


War Path

by wapaksoccet13



Series: The Ups and Downs of Love [3]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-01-22 05:30:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 40,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12474540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wapaksoccet13/pseuds/wapaksoccet13
Summary: Asami Sato had a busy life as a recently graduated young woman.  She was the CEO of her family's company, Future Industries.  She was going to college.  She was the girlfriend of the current Avatar incarnation, Korra Sparks.  Now the most important things of her life are gone.  With college on hold and her relationship with Korra in limbo, new allies and new enemies have begun to arise.  Is Asami ready for the war path that her life is about to head down?  Will she be ready to face the darkest parts of her past?





	1. Life After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been two weeks since Harmonic Convergence, and new changes are in the air.

Have you ever found yourself in at a point where you lack the motivation to do anything else because it's the same set of information you've heard before?  That just the repetitive nature of the information practically bores you to sleep?  Welcome to my Monday morning.  Another day, another boring meeting.  Important, yet extremely boring.  

My name is Asami Sami.  I live in a world where individuals are able to bend the elements around them, and several of these benders are my loved ones.  I am also the CEO of Future Industries, having taken control of the company after my father, founder and former CEO, Hiroshi Sato was revealed to have worked with a terroristic group called the Equalists.  The Equalists were a group of non-benders who saw the inequality against non-benders and were determined to fight against it through shameful ways.  What they weren't prepared for was the arrival of the Avatar, Korra Spark, who was able to bend all four elements, and our friends.

Following the defeat of the Equalists, I was put into the CEO position after my father's arrest.  I had a large task of pulling Future Industries out of the negative press that surrounded us following the Battle for Republic City, but after seeing the hatred that plagued my father, I wasn't about to let his selfish notions bring down the innocents that worked for the company.  We were on the edge of bankruptcy when the events surrounding Harmonic Convergence occurred.  Unalaq, Korra's uncle and former Chief of the Nothern Water Tribe, freed an ancient evil spirit named Vaatu.  Their plan never came to fruition as Korra was able to stop Unalaq and Vaatu from plunging the world into 10,000 years of darkness.  That was all two weeks ago.

With Future Industries slowly gaining a more positive image in the eyes of the public, we were able to take on more projects.  Yet with all these new projects, one would think that the daily meetings would be more than just the same information that I heard just three days ago.  I watched as the same charts were presented with different words, and I tried my best to stifle a yawn.  As if sensing my lack of concentration, Darvy, one of few mechanics who stayed with Future Industries after my father's actions who I had promoted to Chief Operating Officer following my return from the South Pole, closed the meeting on my behalf.  The other officers, though irritated by Darvy's interruption, quickly made their leave, and I was left alone with Darvy.  I sighed, letting my head drop to the table in front of me.

A clink of glass next to my head told me that Darvy had brought me a water. "Sales have been up, production has been slowly increasing with each day, and employee morale is at record highs," he said, summarizing the meeting so that we could avoid the unnecessary questions.

I sat up slowly, taking the glass of water and nodding towards him. "Thank you." I took a small drink of the water before looking towards him. "Is there anything important that I need to be made aware of?  I know there are several meetings coming up fast, but I already have my notes for those."

Darvy shook his head. "No," he said as he looked towards the clock. "But if you leave now, then maybe you can catch President Raiko's conference and hear about how Korra's efforts to disperse the vines in the city."

I could feel my cheeks flare up at the mention of Korra's name.  Not only was she the Avatar, the most powerful bender in the world, but she was also my somewhat-ex girlfriend.  We were on a break, but we didn't break up.  So, she's kind of my girlfriend, kind of not?  I don't know; it's really hard to explain.  I know she hasn't seen anyone since we started the break, thanks to the gossip our friend Bolin likes to practically scream out in the open, but she was still distant.  In truth, the cold shoulder is well deserved.  I stupidly allowed myself to be drawn into cheating on Korra with an old friend, Rin Akimoto.  Looking back on my actions, I couldn't mentally slap myself hard enough.  Maybe if I had told her earlier, we wouldn't be in the position we were in now, but now we were.  I was just going to have to live with that consequence.  In the two weeks since the start of our break, I had given Korra as much space as I could, but each day my heart broke more and more.

I set my glass of water back down on the table, not meeting Darvy's eyes. "When was the last time you spoke to Korra, Asami?" I heard him ask.

I watched as the water spun in a small circle in the glass. "It's...been a couple days."

"And Rin?"

I scoffed at the mention of Rin. She had once been a childhood friend, having left my life right before high school only to make a sudden appearance a couple months ago.  She had left Republic City soon after everyone returned from the South Pole.  The decision to leave was probably helped by my decision to kick her out of my home. "Not since she left.  I can't believe..." I sighed. "I just...I don't know anymore about her.  Did things really change that much that I couldn't have seen her feelings for me?"

Darvy sat in the chair to my right, a hand covering my right hand. "Maybe, but I think it was more like you were too in love with Korra to see anyone else's love for you, even Rin's.  From what you've described to me, Rin seemed to have forced her way back into your life hoping that the exposure itself would bring you back to her."

I looked at his hand before returning my stare back to my water. "Is it too soon?"

I felt Darvy gently squeeze my hand. "You will never know until you try, Asami.  Go on; I've got everything handled on this end.  The company won't disappear if you take a moment to go see Korra."

I searched Darvy's eyes for a moment before meeting his smile with one of my own.  I nodded, standing up and quickly making my way to my Satomobile.  Raiko's press conference was being held at City Hall, and the presence of the vines made everything about driving through Republic City even more difficult than the traffic that was usually present.  Thankfully, traffic wasn't too bad on the good side streets, and I was able to find a close parking spot to City Hall.  As I made my way to the small crowd of reporters, I could hear Korra and Raiko arguing again.  They had never been on good terms, but the past couple weeks had only increased the hostility between the two.

"That's all!  No more questions!" Came Lin's booming voice.  Lin was our Chief of Police, and by the look on her face, she was just as tired watching Raiko and Korra argue as the rest of us.  I watched as she separated Korra and Raiko with Raiko stomping back into City Hall.

I watched as the reporters began to disperse before I started to slowly make my way towards Korra.  She seemed to still be fuming over her argument with Raiko because when she caught sight of me, she jumped slightly.  I could see her eyes brighten slightly at the recognition before the hardened mask she had tried to perfect began to take over.

"Oh, Asami.  Hey," she said, turning towards me. "You um...you didn't see all of that did you?"

I smiled a little. "Unfortunately.  You and Raiko have been getting quite into it in the past few days."

Korra sighed. "It's all just one big disaster."

I bit my lip a little before reaching out to put my hand on her shoulder with a comfort squeeze. "Don't worry.  You've always found a way to figure these things out.  This isn't anything different."

Korra looked away. "Easy for you to say.  On top of all this vine business, I'm having to deal with the public's opinion of me.  I've got an eight percent approval.  I mean come on!  Who the hell are they asking?"

I blinked before bursting out into a fit of laughter.  Korra looked at me confused, and I forced myself to stifle the laugh. "You can't take that to heart, Korra.  The people are just frustrated, just as you are.  We all want to put this business behind us, and it's going to take some time to find a solution."

"They have every right to be!  I should be able to fix this.  I'm the Avatar; this is what I do." Korra huffed before her voice came out in a whisper. "So why can't I?"

My heart ached seeing Korra like this. "Korra, you'll figure something out.  I know you will."

A silence fell between us, one that was quickly becoming awkward in nature.  I pulled my hand away slowly, and I could feel heat rising to my cheeks.  Korra seemed to sense it as well as she tried to hide her own blush.

"So, uh, have you heard anything from Zhu Li?" She asked, trying to focus on anything not me.

In the midst of his plan to free Vaatu, Unalaq had declared war against the Southern Water Tribe.  One of my former high school classmates, Varrick, had created a plan to send reinforcements to the Southern troops, one of the factors for Future Industries nearly going into bankruptcy.  When it was revealed that he had been behind the attacks on the ships and for my stolen equipment, he and his assistant, Zhu Li, were jailed.  To see Zhu Li jailed for Varrick's stupidity still churned my blood.  It was during Korra's battle with Unalaq that a piece of debris hit the side of their jail cell, allowing for them to escape.  I shook my head at Korra's question.  When Zhu Li wanted to disappear, she was very good at it, and being an escaped fugitive was all the more reason to stay hidden.  Korra's next question, though, was one I wasn't expecting to hear from her.

"What about Rin?"

I blinked once before a frowning at the question. "No."

Korra looked taken aback by the tone and quickness of my answer, but she didn't push for clarification.  Rather than continue on the topic, she asked if I would like to join her at Air Temple Island for lunch.  I smiled and accepted the offer, trying to keep the flutters in my stomach still.  It wasn't a big step, but hopefully it was the first step towards several in fixing our relationship.

The Air Acolytes were all smiles at our arrival to the island, pointing us in the direction of where Tenzin and his family were having lunch.  As we walked down the hall, I eyed Bolin sitting with them, enjoying the lunch that Pema had prepared.  Since losing his apartment, Bolin had taken Tenzin up on his offer to stay at Air Temple Island.  Mako, Bolin's brother, had been given the same offer, but he had declined it.  By the way Tenzin had just scolded his older brother, Bumi, we had walked in on another family argument.

"It's not a joke," Bumi answered Tenzin's scolding, crossing his arms and giving him an indignant huff.

Korra and I stopped by Bolin, who looked up at us with his mouth full. "What's up with him?" Korra asked, looking between the two brothers before taking a seat beside Bolin.

Bolin swallowed, leaning towards Korra. "Bumi says he airbended earlier, but he can't now.  Oh, and I guess he's not very good at knitting either."  Korra looked up at me, and I returned her shocked look.   _Bumi_ _airbending_ _?  Since when?_

Bolin continued to talk about the family dynamics, allowing me to scan the room. "Still no Mako?" I asked.

Bolin shook his head. "He's still at the police station."

Korra sighed. "Still?"

Bolin nodded. "I told him Tenzin invited us to stay here since we lost our apartment, but he said he had to focus on work," he explained, flipping the front of his hair up in an imitation of his brother.

As he began to pat his hair back down to its normal style, Bumi began to thrust his hands in the air in front of him, grunting with each movement.  When the napkin in front of him moved slightly, he waved his hands excitedly in front of him.

"Did you see that?  I think the napkin moved!" He exclaimed, look from the napkin to his brother and back again.

Kya, the middle child of Aang's three children, narrowed her eyes at her brother.  It seemed that she was on the same level of irritation that Tenzin was. "Bumi, you blew on it."

When Bumi's eyes seemed to light up to whatever thought had just popped into his mind, I couldn't help but sigh.  He could be as bad as Bolin with his plans sometimes.  I watched as he wrapped his hand around his jaw, narrowing his eyes in thought. "Maybe I can only do it when my life is in danger," he pondered out.  He snapped his fingers and turned to Bolin. "Bolin, I need you to bend a giant boulder at me."

Bolin stared at Bumi before laughter began to escape him.  He shook his head, trying to calm his laughter. "Yeah, I don't think that's a good idea, Bumi.  Not a good one at all."

Bumi, having raised his arms in a defensive position, lowered them with a frown.  Pema, usually quiet about these types of conversations, seemed to have been reaching her limit as well.  She sighed, looking to Bumi. "If you're going to be bending giant boulders, you can do it outside!"

Tired of the direction of the conversation, Tenzin pounded the table in front of him. "No one is bending giant boulders!"

It was then that Tenzin's oldest son, Meelo, jumped to his feet.  He had a look in his eye, one that I only ever saw when he had some troublesome plan in his mind, and my instinctive reaction was to back away.  Meelo had a personality that was unpredictable, and it was about to show.

"Look alive, Uncle Bumi!" Was all the warning we had before he flipped a plate into the air, caught it, and spun it at his uncle.

I've heard Bumi's crazy stories before; it's hard to ignore the preposterous tales of his time in the United Republic Forces when he's calling them out every few hours.  What I wasn't prepared for was to see Bumi lift his arms up at the last second, intending to block the plate from hitting his face, and airbend a sphere around the plate.  Everyone in the room stared in disbelief, mouths wide open, as we watched the only nonbender of Aang's children suddenly start to airbend before our very eyes.

"I told you!" Bumi shouted, arms still extended as the air sphere continued to spin the plate in motion in front of him.

It was Tenzin that seemed to voice all of our thoughts. "Unbelievable.  You're actually airbending."

Bumi rose to his feet, a wide smile plastered on his face. "Wait until I tell Mom.  She's going to love this!"

It was then that the air sphere disappeared, gravity bringing the plate back to the table.  It shattered upon impact with the table.  It turned out that Bumi wasn't the only one to start showing signs of becoming a new airbender.  Later that night at the mansion, my phone rang for a video call as I was working on plans for a new road system for the city.  It was Opal.  After the battle against Unalaq, Opal had returned to Zaofu after graduating high school early.  It seemed to have taken a battle to save the world for her to truly realize what her family meant to her, and from our previous conversations, she was close to deciding on where she wanted to attend college, whether it be University of Zaofu or Republic City University.

I pressed the accept button, allowing for Opal's bright smile to grace my screen. "Hey, what's up?"

**_"Hey, uh, so a thing happened today."_ **

"What kind of thing?"

Opal looked around her room, as if checking to make sure no one could hear her.  ** _"So...um...I think I can_** ** _airbend_** ** _now?"_**

My pencil dropped as I stared at Opal. "You can what?"

She smiled shyly at my words.  ** _"Yeah.  I was outside watching Wei and Wing play their_** ** _powerdisc_** ** _game, and the disc rebounded off of something wrong.  It started to go towards Huan, who was doing his usual depressed-artist thing nearby, but Wei and Wing were too slow to stop it.  I like reached out towards it, thinking somehow it would stop it, and it did!  Granted, the three of them wouldn't stop staring at me like I was a weirdo afterwards, but I haven't even told my mom or dad yet."_**

"Have you told Bolin?"

Opal shook her head.  ** _"No not yet.  I was...hoping you could keep it between us for now until I figure out how to tell my parents.  It's hard for the twins to do it, but they're respecting my decision for the mom_** ** _ent_** ** _, and I'm just hoping_** ** _Aiwei_** ** _doesn't start asking me about it._** ** _"_**

Aiwei was one of Su's advisors who had the ability to tell if anyone was lying.  I had only met him once when he had accompanied Su to Republic City a couple years ago, but the vibe I was getting from him wasn't a pleasant one. 

"You're going to have to tell your parents sooner or later, Opal," I said, running my hand through my hair.

She sighed.  ** _"I know, I know.  It's just...why now?  My brothers were able to bend when they were like three years old, and I'm just now starting to find out I have_** ** _airbending_** ** _, of all things!  How am I supposed to break it to them?  There's only one way I could've gotten_** ** _airbending_** ** _, and that topic is NOT something I want to have with my parents right now."_**

I bit my lip. "Well...maybe not."

Opal tilted her head to the side.  ** _"What do you mean?"_**

"You're not the only one who's manifested the ability to airbend recently."

**_"Who else has?"_ **

"Bumi."

Opal blinked in shock.  ** _"Seriously?"_** I nodded.  ** _"_** ** _So_** ** _what does this mean?"_**

"I don't know, but I have a feeling we're about to find out."

* * *

 

She waited, watching as the guards made their way back across the gorge.  It was a perfect design for someone who couldn't bend the elements.  It was a failed design for someone who found out she could now airbend.  For all she knew, she was either a very late bloomer or something from Harmonic Convergence allowed for this to happen.  Being a late bloomer seemed out of the question because her heritage was primarily Fire Nation, so if anything she should've been able to firebend and not airbend.  If it was from Harmonic Convergence, then it made her wonder just how many more were like her or if she was the only one affected.

She shook her head.  There was no time to think about that now.  She had a job to do.  Once the coast was clear, she airbended herself up the lone rocky tower.  In the week since her ability to airbend started to manifest, she had become exceptional at becoming stealthy.  Granted, it helped that her parents had forced the life of a spy onto her shoulders.  She didn't need this ability, but she wasn't about to give up the opportunity that had presented itself.  Slowly, she crept towards the door, her eyes focused on where the guards were supposed to be.  Once she knew that they wouldn't pay a minute's attention towards the door, she straightened so that she could see inside the cell.

Sitting against the back of the cell was an older gentleman, long grey hair flowing over his shoulders.  He didn't move right away when she made her presence known, but the instant recognition in his eyes told her he was surprised to see her.  Somehow, it pleased her knowing that she had been missed.  What caught her attention, though, was the smile that blossomed onto his face.

"So I see you've gained the ability to airbend as well," he said in a soft voice.  From the suggestion in his voice, she knew he had the ability as well.  It didn't surprise her; if she were to have this ability, then it wasn't a surprise if those she was related to would be able to gain the ability as well. "How goes the outside?"

"Unalaq is gone, and the Avatar is still alive."

The man laughed softly. "So the idiot actually went through with his plan?  Even with all the warnings we gave him?" She nodded, her eyes looking out towards the ledge. "Pathetic, but at least he's finally out of the picture."

She looked towards him. "So we're actually going to be able to move forward?"

The man nodded. "With our newfound airbending abilities, yes.  The guards are to bring me my food tomorrow, and that is when I will escape.  Feel free to stick around for it; it may end up to be quite a show."

"It's not like I have anything else to do."

"Sounds like there's a story behind those words."

"One that I can tell you once you're free."

The man nodded, looking towards the space behind her. "Leave.  They'll be making their rounds soon, and I would recommend not being in proximity when they do." She nodded, turning to leave, when his voice caught her attention. "We will avenge your parents, Rin.  I swear it."

Rin stopped, turning her head towards the door of his cell. "I know, Zaheer.  We will rid the world of the Avatar and fulfill their mission.  The Red Lotus will succeed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Make sure to let me know what you think of the story. It will update every Monday, and all updates will be on my tumblr page under the hashtag #War Path.


	2. Moving Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is surprised when Bumi starts to airbend, but as they figure out what could have led to this new change, the Krew must face the rising expectations of President Raiko.

_Failure.  Failure.  FAILURE._

I awoke with a start, sitting up quickly as my heart pounded against my chest.  I looked around my room in a panic, my hand moving towards the other side of the bed only to find it empty.  Then reality hit me like a train.  It was the third nightmare this week, and I always woke up searching for Korra.  I sighed, laying back down on my bed as I stared up at the ceiling above me.  I had tried placing more pillows up on the bed with me in hopes that they would replace the space where she had once laid, but they never gave off the warm body heat that she could.  Sometimes I would look towards the spray she had left in my room, and a little spritz would help calm my nerves, but it would never truly smell like her.  Most nights I would wonder how she was sleeping in her room on Air Temple Island, wondering if she missed me as much as I missed her.

When morning finally arrived, the thought of heading back to the island seemed to brighten my mood, even if it was to try and help Korra and Tenzin figure out Bumi's sudden ability to airbend.  Going through my morning routine of coffee and a small breakfast while I read all of my new emails, I couldn't help but wish that I had Korra to talk to.  Being on this break from her was hard enough without all these moments of missing her popping in quite frequently, but a part of me knew that I wasn't confident enough yet to ask Korra where we stood.  That maybe, sometime soon, we'd find a way back to each other.  I would just have to wait it out until something new came up.  Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long after I arrived at the island.

I had been leaning back against one of the pillars, watching as Bumi continued to grunt in the courtyard.  He had been spending the past hour trying to airbend any puff of air, but nothing was coming out of his attempts.  Since finding out about Bumi's airbending ability, Korra and Tenzin had been mulling over the different ways he could have gained them.  Assumption after assumption was thrown out as the two tried to think of how a previous non-bender was now bending.

"Do you think being in the spirit world during Harmonic Convergence could've given him bending?" I heard Korra ask.  A look out the corner of my eyes confirmed that her attention was fully on Bumi still.

Tenzin's answer was filled with just as much doubt as Korra's question had been. "I suppose it's possible."

It was then that Ikki, Tenzin's second oldest, piped out. "Maybe Uncle Bumi is just a late bloomer!"

I smiled at Ikki's suggestion, wishing that the answer was as simple as that, before turning my attention to Kya.  She was moving her hands in small circles, closing her eyes as she spoke. "I have been noticing a change in your aura lately."

Bumi stopped for a moment, glaring at his sister. "And you didn't tell me?" He asked before returning to his attempts once more.

It was then that I noticed Lin and Mako making their way towards us, both of them in their police uniforms.  They kept their eyes on Bumi as they approached us. "Invisible spirit monster attack?" Lin asked, her hands on her hips as she continued to watch Bumi.

"No, but it's something wonderful, Lin.  You won't believe it, but Bumi just started airbending," Tenzin explained.

It didn't seem like a coincidence that both Lin and Mako reacted to Tenzin's news, looking at each other before turning towards us.  By the look in Mako's eyes, I could already tell there was something more to the newfound airbending.

"I'm afraid he's not the only one," Lin informed Tenzin, and I felt my chest tightened.  _There's more?!_

"What?" Korra, Tenzin, and I all asked.

Mako turned towards us. "I got a call last night about a guy who just started airbending out of nowhere."

Tenzin took a step forward, hope filling his voice as he spoke. "You mean there's another one?  Well, where is he?"

Mako rubbed the back of his head. "He...blew down a door on me and got away." I bit my lower lip to stifle the laugh building in my throat. "We've got an all-points bulletin out on him right now."

Korra stepped up to Tenzin's side. "We'll help you look for him.  Where should we start?"

Mako looked to Lin, who had already begun to walk back towards their airship, before turning back towards Korra and I. "Oh, well, you know, you should...you should leave it to the police.  It's...police business, you know?  It's, um...official."

I lifted an eyebrow at Mako's behavior, and from the sound of it, Korra wasn't convinced either. "Ok?  Well then, how are you doing?  You know you're welcome to stay here at the temple instead of sleeping at the police station," she offered.

In truth, I knew the real reason why Mako had chosen to stay away from the island.  It had been only a couple days after Korra and I started our break that Mako had confronted me about the situation.  Apparently, we hadn't been obvious enough with our avoidance of each other to show that something was off.

* * *

 

_Mako's hand reached out and wrapped around my arm, giving it a hard tug to stop me from storming off. "Asami, talk to me.  What the hell is going on between you and_ _Korra_ _?"_

_I tugged hard to try and free my arm from his grip, but it only made it tighten. "Nothing's wrong, Mako.  Just drop it."_

_"That's a load of bull, and you know it."_

_"I said drop it, Mako."_

_"And I said no."_

_I turned to face him, knowing my eyes were starting to turn red. "And what do you want to know about it Mako?  That we broke up?  That it's my fault?  That I screwed the hell up?  Is that what you wanted to hear?"_

_Mako blinked at my outburst, too stunned to remain holding onto my arm.  I didn't move, my frustration and anger keeping me grounded as tears threatened to spill over my cheeks. "Asami, I didn't know.  I didn't-"_

_"No, you didn't.  You didn't because I thought you would have the balls to leave it be when I asked you to in the first place."_

_I quickly wiped away the tears that had crept out, not wanting Mako see me cry.  I had cried enough in front of him.  I didn't want to see more._

_"What happened?" I heard him ask softly._

_"I._ _..I_ _screwed up.  I screwed up badly."_

_"Is this why Rin left?" I nodded once, my shoulders starting to shake. "Asami, talk to me.  What happened?"_

_And_ _so_ _I explained to him everything.  The kisses with Rin.  Rin's confession._ _Korra_ _seeing all of my memories in the Tree during Harmonic Convergence.  The decision to take a break.  My fears and hopes.  And through it all, I let the tears fall freely.  After I was done, a moment of silence passed between us before his arms wrapped around my shoulders.  I straightened with a startle, but Mako didn't move his arms.  Eventually, I wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him tight._

_"You two will get through it, Asami.  Maybe not right away, but you will."_

_"How do you know?"_

_Mako pulled back and smiled at me. "Because you two are the most stubborn women I know."_

* * *

 

"No, I'm fine," Mako answered. "I should just get...going.  So, as you were...ladies."

He gave us a salute, turning around to leave while still saluting.  Korra turned to look at me, and even I could see how much control she had to keep from laughing at Mako's strange behavior.  By the time Mako and Lin had left in their airship, Bumi had given up on trying to airbend, and the rest of the group had gone to their rooms to retire for a while.  This left Korra and I alone, and by Korra's suggestion, we decided to head back into Republic City to see if we could search for the young man that had evaded Mako last night.

Korra was full of excitement as we made our way to my Satomobile. "This is so exciting!  New airbenders in the city?  I bet we can find that guy before Mako does." 

As she spoke about finding the new airbender, an idea popped into my head.  I tossed my keys at Korra, and with her quick reflexes, she caught them before they smacked her in the face.  She looked at them before turning her attention back to me. "Go on," I said.

Korra looked at me confused. "You know I'm not very good at driving.  Remember the last time?"

I had spent weeks getting the dents out of her first attempt of driving my Satomobile.  I took a deep breath in at the memory before slowly letting it out, turning my attention back to her. "I do, but you're the Avatar, master of all the elements.  You should know how to drive."I pushed my hair back over my shoulder, taking note of the slight blush rising to Korra's cheeks.   _So_ _it seems I'm not the only one who's been missing someone._ "Besides, it's relaxing."

Oh how wrong was I.

"Clutch!  Clutch!"

After several screeches and jerks forward, Korra finally brought the Satomobile to a halt.  By how the seatbelt had dug into my shoulder, I was sure I was going to have a bruise the next morning.  She looked at me with a smile as an apology, just as another Satomobile pulled up behind us honking their horn.  I sighed in relief at the brief pause in our movement.

"And that is the break." I slowly moved my arms back down from the headrest. "Let's try again.  You ready?"

Korra looked at me, and the Satomobile honked once more behind us.  What I wasn't prepared for was her mock salute and determined face, and I couldn't help the laugh that escaped.  She began to laugh with me, and the Satomobile behind us finally went around us.  The smile on Korra's face was refreshing, and I couldn't help but keep my smile as well.

"How long do you think talking to Mako is going to be like pulling teeth?" She asked as she started the car back up.

I looked to the sky for a moment before returning my gaze towards Korra. "Well, Mako has never been the easiest to talk to unless it's something...complicated, but here's to hoping that it'll get better eventually."

We drove in silence for a moment before I moved my hands below my legs. "So um...we should talk."

I could practically feel the tension surge towards Korra. "About?"

"Us.  And what happened with Rin."

Korra remained silent for a minute.  I bit my lower lip, waiting for the worst possible response that my mind could create. "I'm still upset about everything."

"I know, and I'm so-"

"I wasn't finished, Asami.  I'm still upset, and it's going to take a long time before I'm ready again, but I wanted you to know that I'm sorry."

I blinked at her apology. "You're sorry?  Why are you sorry?." I looked down at my lap. "I'm the one who hurt you."

"There's so many ways I should've reacted to it, and I should've heard you out before shutting you out, Asami.  I-"

"Stop Korra." Korra looked towards me, seeing the tears starting to well in my eyes. "There's so many things that I did wrong, that I should've done differently.  I should've seen all the signs before.  I should've pushed her away when she kissed me.  I should've done more to search for you when you were missing.  There's so many things that I should've done different, but because I didn't, I lost you.  Now I'm paying the price for it."

Korra remained quiet, even as my ramblings continued.  All of what I had kept bottled up within me was bursting at the seams, whether I wanted it to or not. "But you mean more to me, Korra.  You're the one thing on my mind almost 24/7.  I love you, Korra, and I ruined what we had.  I'm...I'm so sorry I hurt you."

I jumped in my seat slightly when I felt Korra reached out to move my hand out from underneath my leg, taking it in her hand.  She began to rub small circles into my hand, even as my tears started to fall down my cheeks. "I've missed you too, Asami.  I've never truly had a girlfriend to do all these things with.  I never wanted someone to come between us.  I'm sorry I wasn't as supportive of you, that I wasn’t always there for you like I should've."

I looked at Korra. "Korra, you were always there for me.  You were-"

Korra held up her hand. "Can we both agree that we both made mistakes, that we miss each other, and start over?  Just you and I?"

I swear my heart couldn't fly any higher than at that moment. "I'd like that."

Korra squeezed my hand, turning to smile at me, when I noticed something rather large in the middle of the road.

"Korra, vine!  Vine!"

Korra slammed on the breaks, and the Satomobile started to screech to a halt.  I pressed my hand to my head at the sudden headache from the stop.   _I need to carry_ _asprin_ _on me from now on._ As my eyes started to adjust, I looked up in time to see a porcupine-looking spirit appear on the vine we had just about crashed in to.  I jumped at his sudden appearance, but Korra didn't flinch.

"Hey!  Watch where you're going!" He shouted at us.

Korra stood up from her seat, pointing a finger at the spirit. "What are you doing living in the middle of the road in the first place?"

The spirit huffed as he placed a hand over his chest. "Don't ask me, Avatar.  You made the world this way.  We're just living in it."

Korra placed her foot on the side of the door, her hands clenching into fists. "Look, I don't have anything against spirits, but these vines are causing major problems all over the city."

The spirit raised his nose in the air. "Spirits?  Vines?  We're all the same.  Seems like the Avatar would know that," he answered as he turned around and disappeared once more.

I watched as Korra plopped back down into the driver's seat, staring at the steering wheel with her thinking face. "Korra, you okay?"

Korra continued to stare before blinking several times, a smile growing on her face. "I think that spirit just gave me an idea on how to get rid of these vines." She looked to me. "I'm going to need a lot of water."

A quick phone call to Bolin and to Lin, and Korra and I had found ourselves outside of Bolin's former apartment, which had become entrapped by the vines after Harmonic Convergence.  Bolin was the first of the two to show up, a bright smile on his face as he sprinted towards us.

"So, I just talked to the landlord, and he said if you can get the vines out of the apartment, then I can move back in!" He excitedly told Korra.

Korra gave him a small smile. "I'll try my best, Bolin."

When Lin arrived with several of her officers, the anxiety that had been building since we arrived slowly started to disappear.  That is until Raiko made an appearance with several members of the press.  I could feel the anger radiating off of Korra as she turned towards Raiko, a smug smile on his face.

"What are you guys doing here?" She asked him, her grip tightening on her staff.

"I was alerted that you had a new plan to wipe out these noxious weeds," he answered, motioning to the reporters behind him. "So I thought you'd want everyone to be here to watch."

One reporter raised his hand as he called out to Korra. "Avatar Korra!  Do you really think-"

Korra wasn't about to have any of Raiko's interruptions.  She held her hand up, effectively cutting off the reporter. "No questions!  Just stand there.  Silently!"

When the reporters didn't say another word, I turned towards Korra. "You got this.  I'll be right here."

She nodded before making her way towards the apartment building.  The familiar glow of the Avatar State appeared in her eyes, and her hands started to move in the motions of spiritbending, the only good thing that came out of her teaching by her uncle.  Unalaq had vehemently proclaimed that a change in the relationship between spirits and the physical world needed to occur, and in a way, Korra was fulfilling his dream though not in the way he would have imagined.  I watched as the twin columns of water began to rise around the building so as to include all of the vines.  As they reached the top, their light blue color began to change to a gold, signaling the calm that spiritbending was to bring.  The vines began to retreat from the building, and I could hear Bolin excitedly cheer from behind me.

The reporters were ready to eat up all of Korra's actions.

"How did you know what to do?"

"Will you send the spirits away now?"

"How soon can we expect public water service to resume?"

I'm sure I felt like I had a similar irritated expression on my face as Korra did, but none of that mattered when a new vine shot out of the water beneath the bridge we were standing on.  The building, once again vines, was suddenly entrapped by a new set of vines, and the surrounding buildings were caught in the same fate.  The vines were so stronger that they caused a building to start collapsing towards us.  I was quick to usher the reporters to a safe distance away as Korra, Bolin, and Lin all went towards the falling building.  I watched as Bolin and Lin were able to use their earthbending to stop the falling building, and Korra made quick work to get those stuck in the building out.  It was then that I saw a young boy standing at an open window at the top of the building.

"Korra!  Up there!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, pointing towards the boy.

Korra followed my line of sight, extending the wings of her glider and flying up to the young boy.  As they flew towards the ground, a piece of the building had been shaken off of its foundation and began to fall after them.  Fear leapt into my throat as Korra landed and turned towards the piece of building.  Those around her screamed in a panic as they fled the area, but she was quick to throw her hands into the air, catching the building with her earthbending, and gently setting it down on the ground in front of her.

When the building finally stopped shaking and the danger had passed, I rushed over to Korra, pulling her into a tight hug.  I could feel her slight hesitation, and I jumped back quickly, a blush over my cheeks.  She smiled an uneasy smile as Bolin and Lin made their way over to us.  I searched the crowd that surrounded the building, but there was no sign of Raiko.  Even with the excitement that surrounded the building's almost-collapse, the reporters were even hesitant to come towards Korra.

I looked at her, seeing the frustration written over her face.  I placed a hand on her shoulder and looked towards Bolin. "How about we all go out for dinner?" I looked towards Lin. "I know you have you duties, but you're more than welcome to join us if you'd like."

Lin held up her hand. "Thanks, but no thanks.  I have to head back to the station and write up a report on this mess.  I can already hear Raiko shouting for one."

Bolin wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "You know I'm always down for some chow!"

I smiled at him, looking towards Korra. "What do you say?"

I knew her answer as the smile appeared on her face, even as Bolin stood beside her egging her on. "Alright, alright.  Lunch at Narook's it is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So shout out to Zo who commented on Chapter 1. I know a lot of you commented on past chapters in First Love about the aftermath and consequences of Rin and Asami, but it didn't really click until Zo's comment. In all honesty, I don't know why, but thank you!
> 
> I hope everyone enjoys the chapter! See you next week.


	3. Kyoshi Bridge and Beyond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> News is spreading fast of the new airbenders. Will the Krew be ready for the consequences of rebuilding the Air Nation?

Korra was quiet the ride back to Air Temple Island.  I could see something was troubling her, but I didn't want to risk pushing for information only for her to shut me out once more.  Once we made it back, she waved at me before walking towards the cliff.  Bolin made a move to follow her, but I grabbed his shoulder to stop him.  He looked at me confused, but when he saw the silent message in my eyes, he understood and followed me inside the temple.  Tenzin and his family were having dinner when we arrived.  When he saw the two of us enter the room, he frowned.

"Where's Korra?" He asked, setting his bowl down.

Bolin pointed out the window towards to the cliff where we could see Korra sitting in the middle of the gazebo. "She's been kind of anti-social as of late.  I think it's from the failed spiritbending attempt from earlier." I quickly elbowed him in the ribs.

Tenzin was quick to his feet. "Let me go speak with her for a moment."

We watched as he left to head to the gazebo, while Pema offered some of the dinner to Bolin and I.  Bolin was quick to take up her offer, but I was still full from Narook's.  I watched as the airbenders and Bolin returned to their food, choosing to take a seat next to Bolin, when the phone began to ring.

Pema rose to answer it before her children could get the chance to. "Air Temple Island, Pema speaking." She blinked in surprise. "Mako, easy.  Easy!  What's going on?" I could see her brow furrow as she listened to Mako. "I'll be sure to let him know right away.  Just try to keep anyone from getting hurt as best as you can."

She quickly hung up and looked at Bolin and I. "They found that young man.  He ran off when they tried to bring him in, and now he's on the top of Kyoshi Bridge."

I stood up. "I'll go grab Korra and Tenzin."

I sprinted out to the gazebo before anyone could stop me, and I could see Korra's head snap up at the sound of my heels.  She turned quickly the closer I got to it, and Tenzin turned to look at me as well.

"What's going on?" Korra asked, rising to her feet.

"Mako called.  They found the new airbender.  When they tried to bring him in, he ran off and climbed to the top of Kyoshi Bridge.  They have a barricade up to contain the situation, but from the sounds of it, he's not coming down anytime soon," I explained, my eyes going back and forth from Korra to Tenzin. "I didn't interrupt anything too important, did I?"

Korra shook her head. "It's fine, Asami.  Come on; let's grab Bolin and head for Kyoshi Bridge."

Bolin, Korra, Tenzin, and I flew to Kyoshi Bridge on Oogi, and the sight made my heart clench.  Bystanders were standing outside of their Satomobiles and trucks outside the police barricade, while the metalbending police stared up one of the supports.  As Oogi landed, I was able to see a better idea of where the new airbender was as he desperately held onto a part of the support.  The four of us quickly made our way over to Mako and Lin.

Lin raised a microphone to her mouth. "Come down immediately, or we will be forced to take action."

I looked at Lin surprised. "What kind of action are you planning, Lin?"

Mako pointed to the beams on either side of the bridge.  It was then that I could see several officers making their way towards the young man.  I could hear him yelling for the officers to stay back before gusts of air blew out towards them, knocking them all off of the bridge.  Shouts and screams came from the crowd behind us, but the officers metalbended their retractable cables out to the beams, swinging back towards the bridge and landing on the ground safely.

Korra gritted her teeth and sprinted off towards the support, extending her glider and allowing for the wind to fly her up to the young airbender.  I watched as she landed next to him, speaking loud enough for all of us to hear. "Don't panic, I'm just here to talk."

"Please!  I don't know what I'm doing, and I don't want to hurt anyone," I could hear him beg to Korra.

"Tell me about it." She looked at him with an easy smile. "Rough day, huh?  I'm having kind of a rough day myself.  Do you mind if I sit here?"

The man looked at her, then towards the ground before pushing himself against the metal behind him. "Uh...sure?"

Korra slowly lowered herself down to sit on the metal beam. "Look, I know you're scared.  You've gone through a big change, and it's kind of my fault.  You're not alone.  There are other airbenders, and they want to help you.  Actually, they're really excited to meet you."

The man looked at her with his scared eyes. "But I don't want to be an airbender.  Please, you're the Avatar.  Make it stop."

Korra's face dropped. "I'm sorry.  I can't.  But I promise you things will get better if you just give it a chance.  Let me take you over to Air Temple Island, and we can talk this through, okay?"

We watched as Korra offered a hand to the young man.  He looked at her hand for a moment before moving to take it, only to take a step to far and start to fall.  Screams erupted behind us as he fell, but thankfully, Korra was quick to react.  She jumped after him, wrapping her arm around his torso, and open the wings of her glider to bring them to a soft landing.  Cheers came from the crowds of onlookers as we made our way over to the two.

"I never did catch your name," Korra joked, trying to help the young man calm down from his near-death experience.

"D-Daw..." He swallowed, looking at us with frightened eyes.

Korra smiled, motioning to Tenzin. "Daw, this is Tenzin.  He's going to help you."

Tenzin bowed his head to Daw. "It is absolutely my pleasure to meet you, Daw.  I've never met a new airbender before." He smiled. "Well, at least not one whose diaper I didn't have to change."

Daw blinked at Tenzin, unfazed as he spoke. "Actually, I just fell off a bridge, so I could use a fresh diaper right about now."

Mentally, I couldn't run fast enough away.  It was then that I noticed Raiko making his way towards us, steam practically coming out of his ears. "So is this the deal?  We have a crisis every other day now, thanks to you?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, but my anger wasn't nearly as high as Korra's was currently. "Listen, I know you're having a tough time getting used to these changes, and I am sorry about that.  But you and everyone else are going to have to learn to live with it.  The vines and the spirits are here to stay."

That seemed to push Raiko to the edge. "Well, you know who's not here to stay?  You!" He yelled, pointing a finger at Korra. "I order you to leave the city!  You've caused nothing but trouble since you arrived."

That was the final straw. "You can't do that!" Raiko seemed to be taken aback by my outburst, but I didn't care. "The only reason why you're president right now is because of Korra.  She's SAVED the city more times than you have even cared for it!  I didn't see you fighting to defeat Unalaq when he fused with an ancient evil spirit; Korra did.  What about with Amon, who threatened to take away every bender's ability to bend?  That wasn't you; that was Korra."

"Asami." I felt Korra wrap her arm around my arm, gently tugging on it to turn my attention back to her. "Let it go.  If he wants me to leave, then I'll go." She gave me a gentle smile, and my anger began to simmer. "There are new airbenders out there, and I'm going to find them and rebuild the air nation.  I'm going to need all the help I can get, and that includes you."

I looked back towards Raiko, who had begun to leave the bridge, before looking back to Korra.  A smile of my own matched the one she had. "Sounds like a plan."

"Don't think I'm not going with you," Tenzin added, placing a hand on Korra's shoulder. "It's so exciting.  Who knows who's out there right now, discovering the gift of airbending for the first time?"

We followed Tenzin back to Oogi, excited and hopeful for the new airbenders we would be out to find.

* * *

 

Rin was far enough away that the White Lotus sentries wouldn't be able to spot her, but she was close enough to watch whatever performance Zaheer had planned for his escape.  The sentries that were supposed to be bringing him his meal hadn't arrived yet, so Rin decided to look back over her notes.  Before her were notes of five locations, five different prisons.  They were the result of years of deception, progress that had been started by her parents and finished within the past two years by herself.  Zaheer was going to be the easiest to break out of even before he gained the ability to airbend. 

Her greatest breakthrough came at her time under the imbecile Varrick; thanks to his stupidity, she was able to finish her research into the prisons without fear of being caught.  His technology was too advanced for him to completely understand how it ran, but it didn't take more than a couple weeks for RIn to figure out all of his systems.  It helped that she was able to plant false ideas around him almost every day, ideas written to seem like they were coming from his "genius" mind.  If he hadn't been stupidly caught, she would've had total control over Varrick Company and Future Industries by now.

She clenched her fist around the pencil in her hand at the thought of Asami.  If only she had more time, then maybe she could've convinced Asami to join her.  Maybe she could've shown Asami a better life, but now of that mattered if the Avatar was still around.  Korra had Asami wrapped around her little finger, but it didn't matter right now.  Rin smiled at the memory; her plan to break the two apart had worked, even if she wasn't fully able to celebrate it.  The next time she saw Asami, she was sure she could convince her to join their cause.

If only Unalaq had listened to the messages she had sent him, then all of their plans may have been completed soon.  She had warned him about involving Korra, but once again, Rin had been ignored.  Now look at where Unalaq was, his spirit having been destroyed after the fusion with Raava.  She scoffed at the thought.  The original plan never had anyone fusing with Raava; they were supposed to be destroying the idea of the Avatar, not creating another one.  Unalaq had never been one to dream with Zaheer's group, always off in his own selfish goals.

As Rin started to ponder who to free next from her list of prisons, the sound of metal began to reverberate throughout the mountains.  She looked up to see that the White Lotus guards had finally arrived to bring Zaheer his meal.  She set her papers down and leaned back against the wall of earth behind her.

"Well then, Zaheer, let's see what kind of show you have ready for me," she whispered to herself.

She watched as the lead Lotus guard made his way to the gated door of Zaheer's cell. "You know the drill, Zaheer."

"Of course." Zaheer's voice drifted out of the cell.  Rin smirked at how calm his voice was.

The man knelt down to what Rin assumed was the only opening large enough to put a tray of food through. "Hope you still like rice."

"Have you ever read the poetry of the great airbending guru Laghima?"

Rin remembered many of the stories Zaheer used to speak of when she was younger.  Zaheer was a devout follower of Laghima's teachings, though Rin could have cared less for the guru.  He was supposed to have somehow been able to fly, "having released his earthly tethers" as Zaheer would often put it.  To her, it was really just a load of wasted breath.

"What?" The guard asked as he stood.

"Guru Laghima lived 4,000 years ago in the Northern Air Temple.  It is said that he unlocked the secret of weightlessness and became untethered from the earth, living his final 40 years without ever touching the ground."

Rin sighed, becoming extremely bored with how Zaheer was droning on about Laghima once more. "Come on, Zaheer.  We have the others to get out as well," she said softly.

The guard didn't look interested either. "Is that how you plan to escape, with something you picked up from an old airbender children's story?"

Rin could practically see the smile on Zaheer's face as he spoke. "Like all great children's tales, it contains truth within the myth." She watched as the guard turned back towards the door of the cell, towards Zaheer. "Laghima once wrote 'Instinct is a lie told by a fearful body, hoping to be wrong.'"

The guard put his hands on his hips. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Rin smiled as she watched the guard's attention start to whether. "It means that when you base your expectations only on what you see, you blind yourself to the possibilities of a new reality," Zaheer answered.

A sudden gush of wind pulled the front guard towards the gate, slamming him hard against it.  Zaheer was quick to move, flipping the guard onto his back and pinning him to the gate.  The guard's companions were too surprised to react before it was too late, and Zaheer knew it.

"How?" The trapped guard breathed out. "You're not a bender!"

Zaheer chuckled at the guard's question. "Nature is constantly changing, just like the wind."

The jingling of keys sounded as the gate was forced open by a gust of air, dragging the guard with it.  Zaheer slid out of the cell, dodging the rush of fire from one of the other guards.  One by one, each remaining guard was knocked into the cell by Zaheer.  Rin couldn't help but smile as she watched the guards fight against Zaheer to no avail.

When the last guard was inside the cell, Zaheer slammed the door shut. "Now you might want to ration that bowl of rice.  You've got three weeks until the next shift change." Rin watched Zaheer lift his chin with confidence. "It's the dawning of a new age, the end of the White Lotus, and soon, the end of the Avatar."

Rin watched Zaheer make his way down the column, and soon enough, he made his appearance on the ledge she was on.  She clapped her hands at him, her smile bright. "That was quite the show."

Zaheer returned the smile, extending his hand out to her.  Rin gathered her papers into her bag before she accepted his hand, allowing for him to pull her to her feet. "This is just the beginning.  Now, we go free the others.  Then, we take the battle to the Avatar."

Rin nodded, the dark thoughts of her mind starting to swirl.  Soon, she would have revenge for her parents.  Zaheer was right about one thing; a new era had arrived.  Their era.

* * *

 

I could barely contain my excitement as I approached Air Temple Island.  Today was the day that we started our journey to search for the new airbenders around the world.  I had already instructed Darvy to contact me should anything majorly important arise in my absence, but I trusted him to keep Future Industries in check during the journey.  Knowing that the company was in good hands, I had taken a fully stocked airship to the temple per request of Korra and Tenzin.  I watched as the Air Acolytes helped to dock the ship at the top of the stairs, and I couldn't help but smile as the doors slid open to everyone waiting.

"Did someone order a fully-equipped Future Industries airship?" I asked.

Korra returned my smile, her excitement over the trip spilling over to all of us. "It's perfect, Sami."

"You wanted to go to Ba Sing Se as the first stop on the journey, so I figured we do it in style."

Meelo rushed up to the ramp of the airship. "Yay!  Airship!" He, Ikki, and Meelo's winged lemur Poki rushed in on airscooters, eager to get a look at the layout of the airship.

Kya smiled at our group. "While you guys are gone, Pema and I will hold down the fort," she said as she reached down to pick up her youngest nephew, Rohan.  She gently bounced him in the air. "Who's excited to spend some time with your Auntie Kya?"

Rohan wasn't too appreciative of the bouncing as he proceeded to throw up on Kya.  Pema cooed at the sight. "Aww.  He likes you."

Kya eyed her sister-in-law before resting Rohan against her shoulder and waterbending the puke off of her front.  It was then that we heard approaching footsteps, and I turned to see Mako walking over.  He wasn't in his police uniform for once.

Korra brightened at the sight of him. "Mako, I'm glad you're here."

Mako returned the smile. "Of course, Korra.  Avatar...Avatar Korra." He looked at her, then at me, and then back to Korra before straightening up to attention. "Once I received your message, I proceeded to contact various locations within the Earth Kingdom as ordered by you, the Avatar."

I sighed.  Mako was taking this stuff a bit too serious, though in all honesty, I had been the one to forget to tell him Korra and I were making small steps towards figuring out our relationship.  Korra nodded at Mako's strange behavior. "Right.  The Avatar thanks you for your loyal service," she said in a mocking voice, clearly amused by his behavior. "Did you find any more leads?"

"There's reports of airbenders popping up all over the Earth Kingdom." He held the cylinder out to Korra. "I marked the locations of the villages on this map.  You guys can take it with you."

Korra took the map as I walked over to them. "You aren't coming with us?" I asked.

Mako looked away from us. "It's probably better if I sit this one out."

Korra put her hand on Mako's shoulder. "Mako, you're still a part of Team Avatar.  We can't do this without you.  It just won't be the same."

He walked away from the two of us, and I could see Korra's mood sour a bit at the sight.  Bolin made his way over to us. "Give me five minutes, and I'll be right back," he said before sprinting off after his brother.

I smiled a little at Bolin's sweet nature before placing my hand on Korra's shoulder. "Come on.  Let's go look at these additional spots and make sure Mako noted Zaofu on the map."

We were the first two to go inside the airship, and it wasn't long after when Tenzin and Jinora joined us to look over the map.  True to his word, Bolin returned with Mako in tow, and Bumi was the last of us to broad before takeoff.  We waved to the remaining group as the airship lifted into the air, and soon Republic City was a shrinking sight.

Once I checked in with our pilot, Weisman, I joined the rest of the group around the map.  Mako was speaking, explaining each of the marks on the map. "As of right now, these are the towns where we've gotten reports about airbenders.  It looks like we can hit up most of them before we get to Ba Sing Se." He looked to Bolin. "Unfortunately, Zaofu isn't on that list quite yet."

Bolin frowned at the thought of having to be away from Opal longer.  I couldn't help but sympathize with him; it had been way too long since I had seen Opal face-to-face.

Korra turned her attention to Tenzin. "We're going to bring the Air Nation back from the brink of extinction after nearly 200 years."

Tenzin smiled at her enthusiasm. "And it's all because of you, Korra."

I smiled at both of them, their excitement spreading to the rest of us.  We were embarking on one of the most important journeys in history, but we weren't prepared for the struggles that were in front of us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with the story. Please let me know what you think; sometimes suggestions make their way into the story itself!
> 
> As always, make sure to follow me on tumblr!


	4. Dinner with the Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Krew arrive to recruit their first airbender on the trip to Ba Sing Se.

"Are you ready?"

Rin had been focusing her attention on the floating prison when Zaheer spoke up.  The prison, a wooden design that was to float in the middle of an ocean away from any access to earth, held the lavabender Ghazan.  Her memories of the man were positive at best; he had been more of an elder brother to her when she was younger.  

"Yes," she answered without her eyes leaving the floating prison.

After Zaheer's escape, the two had been quick to nearest White Lotus station on the shore.  Rin smirked at the memory of how fast the guards had fallen to Zaheer and herself.  Stealing two of the uniforms and one of the speedboats, it had been a half hour's drive out to the prison at full speed.  Rin narrowed her eyes at the four towers, noting each location of the guards watching over the waters.  Her hand moved over the small pouch on her hip where the rocks for Ghazan were held.

Zaheer pulled the boat up to the small dock on the side, and they watched two of the guards start to make their way over to the speedboat.  Rin and Zaheer had timed it perfectly to line up with the shift change, so the guards were none the wiser as their speedboat approached.  The rouse wasn't designed to last long, just enough for them to get close to the prison.

"Hey, where are the other guards?" Rin heard one of the approaching Lotus guards ask.

Zaheer smiled at Rin before turning to look at the guards.  Rin turned as well, catching the looks of disbelief on their faces.  They couldn't react fast enough as Rin and Zaheer launched themselves into the air and over the guards.  Zaheer went to work on taking out the guards as Rin ran towards the wooden cell that held Ghazan.  She tossed in the rocks with a smile on her face as she caught a glimpse of Ghazan before turning towards the Lotus guards.

Fighting against Zaheer was tough enough as he moved around the floating prison, easily dodging the Lotus guards' attacks, but with Rin's contribution, they were forced to split their focus between the two airbenders.  Rin smiled as their attention was solely on her and Zaheer, not on the lavabender who was currently cutting through his prison as if it were paper.  Ghazan knocked away the loose piece of his cell, striking the nearest guards with it before turning his attention on the last guard.  The guard never stood a chance as Ghazan dodge the attack and sent the guard flying out into the ocean.  With every guard indispose, Ghazan made his way over to Zaheer and Rin.

Zaheer smiled, holding up his hand to meet Ghazan's in their handshake. "It's nice to see you again, Ghazan."

Ghazan nodded. "Thanks for busting me out." He turned his attention to Rin. "Nice to see you too, kid."  Returning his attention back to Zaheer. "Where'd you two pick up the new skills?"

"Harmonic Convergence is to thank for that." Zaheer looked at Rin. "We were given a gift, one that I believe is a sign that our path is a righteous one."

Ghazan nodded. "What's our next move?"

Rin pulled off the White Lotus garb, adjusting the color of her jacket. "We still need to free Ming-Hua, P'Li, and my sister."

Ghazan smiled at Rin, resting his arm on the top of her head. "Well, well, well.  Look at you, Pipsqueak.  A lot has changed since the last time I see you."

Rin pushed Ghazan's arm off of her head but returned the smile. "I had to grow up." The smile was quickly replaced with a frown, her anger starting to build inside her chest. "My parents died trying to accomplish our dream, and I'm not about to let that dream die."

Zaheer rested a hand on Rin's shoulder. "Well said, Rin.  For now, let's focus on freeing our other compatriots.  Then we will plan our next moves."

Rin nodded, following Zaheer and Ghazan back to the speedboat.  Two down, three to go.  Rin clenched her fists at the thought of finally taking down Korra, making her suffer as much as she had long ago.   _Soon.  So very soon._

* * *

 

"You really should get some rest."

I looked up from my desk to see Korra standing in the doorway.  We had spent majority of the first day traveling to the first village on our way to Ba Sing Se.  A few had elected to go to their rooms and rest, but I had decided to take the opportunity and look over some of the paperwork I had brought with me.  Setting my pen down, I turned in my chair to face Korra.

"I could tell you the same thing," I said with a small smile.

Korra chuckled, walking into my room to sit on my bed. "I guess I'm just a bit anxious is all.  We're on our way to start rebuilding the Air Nation." She looked down at her lap. "I guess I wish I could see Aang's reaction to all of this.  I hope he would be proud."

"He wanted nothing more than to rebuild his nation, Korra.  I'm sure if he saw all the effort you're putting into this right now, he would be beyond proud of you."

Korra looked up at me with a nervous smile before looking down at her hands. "Thanks."

I looked at her confused. "For what?"

"Believing in me."

I frowned. "Korra, you've got so many people that believe in you, not just me."

Korra looked up at me, her eyes meeting mine. "That's true, but if I'm being completely honest, yours is the one that means the most to me."

I looked away from her, my chest clenching at her words. "I don't know why it does.  After everything I've done to you..."

Korra reached out, covering her hand with mine. "Hey, look at me." I sighed, slowly turning my gaze towards her. "Let's just take this slow and see how it goes, ok?"

I looked into those deep blue eyes, and all I could see was love.  A love I knew I didn't deserve, but I nodded at her words.  It was then that Weisman came onto the intercom, announcing our impending arrival to the first village.  Korra looked towards the speaker as he spoke before turning her attention back to me.

"I'll meet you up at the bridge, alright?"

I smiled a little. "Yeah.  I just have to finish some stuff up here, then I'll be right up.  I promise."

She returned my smile with one of her own before leaving the room.  I sighed, turning back towards the papers on my desk.  Even as I stared at the papers, I knew my mind wouldn't focus a hundred percent on them, but it was something to do to keep my mind away from sleep for now.  It helped to keep me away from the nightmares.  Taking a deep breath, I stacked the papers back into their respective folders before standing up and making my way to the bridge.  I stood with the others, watching as the airship made its way down to the village.

The village was quaint, and I could see the appeal of the farmers who lived there.  Mako had sent word ahead to announce our arrival, so it came to no surprise when a gentleman came rushing out of one of the homes to greet us.  His smile was wide and infectious.

"Avatar Korra, oh it is such an honor to have you come to our humble village," the man said, bowing respectfully to Korra.

Korra returned the bow. "The pleasure is all ours."

Tenzin smiled at his pupil before taking a step forward. "I hate to get down to business, but is the airbender here now?"

The man nodded. "Kuon and his family will be joining us shortly for a special dinner." The man motioned towards the house he had came out of. "Please, right this way."

The man lead us into a rather large dining hall to a table where a young family was already seated.  The husband sat in the middle with his wife and youngest to his right and his other two children to his left.  Korra took a seat opposite of the man who had shown us into the home, while I took a seat to her immediate left.  Jinora sat to my left, followed by Tenzin, Bolin, Mako, and Bumi.  The man who had shown us in continued to smile, though whether it be from excitement or nervousness, I couldn't tell.

"Kuon has been the talk of the town ever since he got his airbending.  He's like a local celebrity," the man explained.

Kuon rolled his eyes with a smile as Tenzin smiled at him. "I just want to say that it's an honor to meet a fellow airbender."

Kuon returned Tenzin's smile with one of his own. "Oh, I still just think of myself as a simple farmer...who can now airbend," he said, stretching out his arms and causing the pie in front of him to fly towards Bolin.

We watched in surprise as it smacked Bolin in the face before dropping to the table in front of him. "Oh, I'm so sorry," Kuon apologized to Bolin. "I still don't have any control."

Pabu, who had snuck his way onto the airship before we left, leapt onto Bolin's shoulder and began to lick off the cream of the pie.  Bolin smiled at Kuon and waved off his concern. "No worries.  I love pie. And so does Pabu." As if to confirm that statement, Pabu dragged off the pan to the floor to finish it.

"Well, you're so much more than just a farmer now," Tenzin spoke up. "Harmonic Convergence changed everything.  You represent the future of a culture that is being reborn.  You're going to help us rebuild the Air Nation."

_Oh_ _this isn't going to be good._ Kuon frowned at Tenzin's words. "I'm going to do what now?" He rested his hands on the table. "The only thing I'm planning to rebuild is my barn."

Tenzin looked at him with wide eyes. "But you must come with us to the Northern Air Temple."

"Well, I can't do that.  I have a family and a farm."

I could hear Tenzin's voice starting to rise with the tension in the room. "Of course you can come.  This is of the utmost importance!  Your wife will understand."

_And here we go._ I sighed internally, wanting nothing more than to slap the back of Tenzin's head.  Kuon's wife looked bewildered at Tenzin before looking to her husband. "Wait, what?  No, I do not understand."

Kuon's daughter wrapped her hands around her father's arm. "Daddy, where are you going?  Why does the bald man want to take you away?"

Kuon's wife smiled at her daughter before eyeing Tenzin. "No one's going to take Daddy away, Sweetheart."

Korra leaned forward slowly. "What Tenzin's trying to say is we would like him to join us for an importance cause." She looked down at Kuon's daughter, a smile on her face as she tried to defuse the situation. "Your dad is an airbender, and there so much more for him to learn about the culture that Tenzin can teach him."

Kuon straightened up at Korra's words, clearly still irritated. "I think there's been some sort of misunderstanding.  I'm not going with you.  I might be able to airbend, but I'm no Air Nomad!  I'm no monk!"

The gentleman who had shown us into the house raised his hands to stop the slowly-increasing shouting match. "Okay, uh, maybe we should just have some dessert, huh?" He held up a bowl, a cautious smile on his face. "Who's up for dessert?"

Tenzin closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "Sir, you must understand.  You're an airbender now, and there are thousands of years of culture you must learn about.  Skills you must master."

Kuon slammed his hands down on the table. "You expect me to abandon my entire life?  My family?" He stood up. "It's not happening!  I'm not going anywhere with you, and I think it's best that you leave!"

The room grew silent, but it wasn't long until Tenzin stormed out of the house.  Mako and I were sure to apologize for the eventful dinner as the others left to head to the airship.  Once we were given the all clear that the airship was ready to depart, we made our way to the bridge.  Tenzin was pacing back and forth as the rest of us gathered around the map of villages.

Korra sighed as she leaned back against her chair. "In my head, I saw that playing out very differently."

I looked to Korra. "We can't force anyone to join us.  Maybe if we had tried to convince him, but outright forcing him?  That will never work."

Bolin piped up. "We could've tried to throw him into a potato sack, and forced him onto the ship."

Bumi, who had been laying on the couch playing with Bumju, smiled at Bolin's suggestion. "That's how they got me to join the United Forces."

Tenzin sighed. "No, Asami's right.  We can't force people into joining us, and that includes forcing people into potato sacks." Bolin smiled his goofy grin but remained quiet.  Tenzin looked back to the rest of us. "They must come freely, but not to worry, there are plenty of other airbenders out there who will be happy to come with us once they find out what the Air Nation's all about."

At the end of the meeting, our group dispersed to their respective rooms, and I returned to the mounds of paperwork.  Weisman had told me new reports were to arrive earlier in the morning, and I couldn't help but hope for something exciting to come in.  I was so caught up in the new plans that I had been working on for the expansion of the research division that I didn't hear someone enter my room.

"I thought I said you needed to rest."

I jumped in my seat, spinning around to see Korra sitting on my bed, one leg pulled up to her chest as she watched me with a smile.  I placed my hand over my heart, wishing my heart to slow down. "You scared me."

I could catch the twinkle in her eye, though she tried to play it off. "My bad; didn't mean to.  Back to the topic at hand, though.  Why aren't you asleep?"

"I could ask you the same question, Korra."

She smiled a little before looking out the window to my right, her left.  She was quiet as she looked at the night sky, her voice coming out as a whisper when she did speak. "I just...couldn't get my mind to stop thinking."

I looked at her confused. "Thinking about what?"

I watched as her thumb rubbed against her shin. "About Raava.  About my past lives." She turned her gaze towards me. "About us." She held up her hand to stop my next thought, her smile never wavering. "I promise I was just down here to check in on you and not to bother you with crazy relationship stuff."

I opened my mouth slightly to speak, but the words caught in my throat.  I wanted nothing more than to tell Korra that it wasn't crazy relationship stuff.  That I felt the same way.  That my feelings had never changed.  That she wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep because of all of this confusing stuff.  Yet, the words never came out.

Korra stood, a hand on my shoulder. "Please, get some rest.  For me."

All I could do was nod, watching as she left the room in silence.  Seconds passed.  Minutes passed.  I waited, hoping that she would come back or I would find the strength to run after her.  Neither happened, and my heart continued to sink.  I looked back at my desk before slamming my fist down on top of the papers, causing the ones not caught under my fist to fly out around me.  I hated how I had put us in the predicament, not knowing where we were going to end up.  I could see the hurt in her eyes every time we talked about us, and it only killed me more.

Once the anger over the situation finally passed, I was able to move to my bed, allowing sleep to take me away from the pain of being conscious.  In my dreams I could be with Korra once more, a happiness that only dreams could bring me.

* * *

 

Zaheer and Ghazan were sound asleep in the back of the truck they had stolen a few hours before, but Rin was wide awake.  They had spent the past couple days traveling towards the next prison that was deep in Fire Nation territory.  Being back home brought back too many painful memories for Rin to get good night's rest.  It had been years since she was last in the Fire Nation and for good reason.

Being a part of the Red Lotus had meant a lot of secrets in her family.  Rin had learned about the organization when she was still young, the many missions her parents were part of requiring them to be away from home weeks at a time.  It left her to be raised by the many guards assigned to her family.  When she lived in Republic City, it had been easy for Rin to lie to her friends and teachers; she could fake signatures with ease, and family events were spaced out far enough that her mother or father could attend without raising too many suspicions.  No one was aware of the treachery, not even those closest to Rin.  She closed her eyes, the memory of the day she left Republic City to return to the Fire Nation playing in her mind.

_It had been a sunny day, not a cloud in the sky.  She had walked home from hanging out with Asami, excited that she was about to have both of her_ _parents_ _home and together for the first time in months.  She listed off the foods she hoped her mother would be cooking by the time she returned; she tried to think of all the techniques her father_ _would help her practice in the den after eating dinner.  What she wasn't ready for was the near-empty house she came home to._

_Everything in the hall was gone with a few boxes resting in what had been the living_ _room_ _.  Rin looked around frightened, rushing towards the kitchen. "Mother?"_

_When she rounded the corner, she found her parents_ _standing at the counter, a large map in front of them.  They were deep in conversation, pointing to various locations on the map.  It wasn't until after her father began to shake his head did he notice her standing in the doorway, a look of concern on her face.  Seeing her husband's change in expression, Rin's mother turned towards her.  Her face stayed rigid as she looked at her daughter._

_"Go and make sure we didn't miss any of your belongings when we packed your things.  We will be leaving very soon," her mother commanded._

_Fear rose in Rin's chest._ Had they been found?   _She knew that the White Lotus had a continuous search looking for them after Zaheer's failed attempt, but that was several years ago.  They had done everything to keep in the shadows, but had they messed up somewhere along the line?_

_"Where are we going?" She asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking._

_"The Fire Nation, back to headquarters.  Do as your mother_ _asked_ _, Rin," her father responded, a comforting smile on his face.  He had always had a softer tone with his children._

_Rin looked at her parents once more before nodding and turning towards the stairs that would lead to her room.  She had taken little time to search her room for anything that might have been missed, sneaking in a call to Asami to tell her she was leaving.  Nothing had hurt her more than having to tell the girl she was leaving, leaving a crack in her heart that was destined to never be filled._

A shuffling behind her snapped Rin back to reality.  She looked over her right shoulder to see Ghazan had rolled onto his side, still lost in his dreams.  Rin looked back towards the clock on the dashboard.  2:48 am.  She had managed to fall asleep for the good part of two hours, which was probably the best amount of sleep she'd get all night.  She rolled her shoulders, sliding the papers back into their respective folders before lingering on the last one.  On the front of the file was the last family photo that Rin had of her old life.  A life before she truly knew how much her family was involved in the Red Lotus.  A life before she lost everything.

A life that had just been her, her parents, and her older sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Make sure to let me know what you think of the chapter! Actions scenes are on their way, and I'm excited to see how everyone reacts to Rin's story with the Red Lotus.


	5. Keep Trying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin's methods weren't working, so what happens when they try Korra's approach?

I will give them credit; they did try.

Following our first unsuccessful attempt to rebuilding the Air Nation, we proceeded to make our way down the list of villages.  Tenzin's push to promote the lifestyle of the Air Nomads was...plain awful.  I can't lie about that at all.  With each new potential airbender joining, he always managed to say the wrong thing.  He told a young boy's mother that he was going to get tattoos all over his body; he tried to discuss their vegetarian diet with a gentleman who had been eating some chicken dish; and there was no way he was going to convince a young woman that the Air Nomad robes were at all stylish.  Even I knew that.  I could see how much Tenzin wanted to bring in new airbenders to learn his culture, but with each new door slam, the prospect of rebuilding the Air Nation grew dimmer.

There were only a few more villages to go until we were to arrive at Ba Sing Se.  Korra and I watched as Bolin continued to mark Xs through the last two villages we had passed by, while Tenzin fumed to his right.

"I really thought I had had that last guy," he grumbled under his breath.  He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair. "I mean, come on!  Who doesn't want a bison as their best friend?"

I raised an eyebrow at his question but kept my comment to myself. Bumi chuckled at his younger brother. "It's ok, Tenzin.  I still want to be an airbender."

Korra sighed, rising to her feet and placing her hands on the table.  I could feel her frustration radiating off of her. "Ok, we've tried it your way, and people just don't seem to be responding." She straightened up, punching her right fist into her left hand. "It's time for a little tough love."

Only one thought went through my mind when I saw the twinkle in Korra's eyes.   _Oh no._

Korra, Bolin, and Mako were determined to bring in a new airbender, insisting that Tenzin let them take the lead on the next village.  I followed them to the home of the airbender, my anxiety over the potential terrible ending lurking in the back of my mind.  Korra was the one to knock, her hands on her hips as the door opened to an older woman.  At the sight of the four of us, the woman brought her hands to her cheeks in surprise.

"Oh, are you the Avatar?" She asked, the excitement practically spilling out in her voice.

She quickly ushered us inside, leading us to a rather large dining room.  Some of the pieces of pottery she had on the shelves caught my eye, and I mentally made a note to see if I would be able to find similar pieces when we returned to Republic City.

"When my son got airbending, my husband and I were so happy," the woman was explaining to Korra. "We thought this could open a lot of doors for him, and maybe he could finally move out of the basement."

 _Oh dear._ Korra laughed along with the woman, her smile ever present. "How old is he?"

"He's 22, and, ya know, still just figuring his life out."

Korra's hands moved to behind her back, and I could see her cross her fingers. "Well, I have a great opportunity for him." She motioned to the three of us behind her. "We're looking for airbenders to join us at the Northern Air Temple."

I wasn't expecting the mother to squeal in excitement. "That sounds wonderful!  I'll get him." She smiled before turning towards what I expected to be a staircase that led to the basement by the way she shouted. "Ryu, get up here!"

We listened as Ryu made his way up the stairs, and I tried my hardest not to recoil from the sight.  Think stereotypical guy who hasn't seen daylight in what seemed like months.  Clothes were haphazardly thrown onto his body, and I was pretty sure there were quite a few food stains on them.   _Please tell me he's at least showered within the past few days._ I swallowed hard, but thankfully, Korra was the one who took the lead with this one.

"Hi, I'm Korra," she said, reaching her hand out to Ryu.

Ryu looked at her hand before raising his gaze up to her. "So, you're like the Avatar or something?  Big deal."

My eyes narrowed at Ryu's standoffish attitude.   _Seriously?_ "Ah, I just wanted to talk to you," Korra answered, her hand dropping slightly at Ryu's response. "You've got an amazing opportunity to-"

Ryu scoffed, interrupting Korra. "Yeah, I heard you talking to my mom, and I'm not interested."

That seemed to be the last straw for Korra. "Well, you're going to be interested," she declared as she took a step towards Ryu.  She reached out, grabbing Ryu by the back of his shirt and pulled him back into a chair.  She slammed her hand down onto the table, even as Ryu tried to move away from her as far as the space would allow.

"You're an airbender now, and you have a responsibility as a citizen of the world."

Ryu huffed, looking away from Korra. "Whatever.  I didn't ask to become an airbender, you know."

Korra scoffed, the slight realization in her eyes.  With the weight of the world on her shoulders, Korra sometimes forgot how far-reaching her actions would go. "Well, I didn't ask to be the Avatar, but I am, and I'm fulfilling my duties."

"So?  You don't have to."

"Yes, I do have to."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't."

I could see Korra fighting to clench her skirt at Ryu's attitude. "Well, if I didn't embrace my role, then our entire world could be thrown into chaos.  Think about that.  Is that what you want?"

Ryu looked at her, a defiance in his eyes.  I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose at their bickering. "Maybe," I heard him answer.

"No, it's not!" Korra shouted, her anger rising.  I tapped on Mako's shoulder, nodding towards Korra.  He looked at her then nodded once.  If this was going to continue, we needed to get her out soon.

"So what?  Who cares?" Ryu asked.

"Everyone cares!"

"I don't care."

"Yes you do!" Korra slammed her hands down on the table.

"Korra..." I said loud enough for her to hear, a warning in my voice.

Ryu closed his eyes. "No, I don't."

And then all self-control was gone. "Well, you're about to care, you little slacker," Korra said, reaching out to grab Ryu's collar. "Because you're coming with me!"

Mako looked at Bolin, who nodded quickly.  They both wrapped their arms under Korra's and began to drag her out of the home.  Ryu had his hand wrapped around the collar of his shirt as he, his mother, and I watched the two brothers drag Korra away.

I looked to Ryu's mother, bowing slightly. "I apologize for the incident.  We'll be on our way."

Ryu looked at Korra before turning to acknowledge me, a smile of her own on her face. "No, no.  It's alright," she said before turning to her son and smacking him on the back of the head.  Seeing where this was going to go, I quickly made my way out of the home.  The scorn from Ryu's mother's voice carried all the way back to the airship.

As I caught up to Korra and the brothers, they were in the midst of arguing over Ryu. "Why didn't you let me drag that brat out here?  I wouldn't have hurt him!"

"We said we weren't going to force anyone to join us, Korra.  Even someone like Ryu has to have a choice," Mako answered.

"Mako's right, Korra.  We all agreed to not force anyone into joining the new Air Nation, even if we did want to smack some sense into Ryu.  Though, I'm pretty sure his mother already beat us to it," I spoke up.  I put my hand on Korra's shoulder. "Let's just get back inside, and move on.  We have plenty of other airbenders out there that will join on their own accord; we just have to find them."

Korra sighed, her shoulders slumping at my words. "I guess so.  It's just so irritating that someone like Ryu has a great gift, and he's wasting doing whatever it is he does in his stupid basement."

"It is, but just think!  We've got so many more airbenders to find, and one of them is Opal!" Bolin practically shouted, his puppy girn large on his face.

I smiled at Bolin, placing my hand on Korra's shoulder. "Bolin's right, Korra.  Now come on; we've got an Air Nation to rebuild."

* * *

 

Everything was becoming too easy.  Grabbing a barrel of water was too easy.  Knocking out the guards around the prison was too easy.  Freeing Ming-Hua was too easy.  All of it was too easy, and Rin was finding it hard to see the enjoyment that Zaheer and Ghazan had about freeing yet another member of their group.  She landed on her feet just in time to see Ming-Hua freeze her water-tentacle arms into ice hooks to knock the remaining two guards out.

Ming-Hua looked up with a smile on her face at her three rescuers. "I never thought I'd be so happy to see your ugly mugs again."

Ghazan gave her shoulder a playful shove. "Great to see you too."

Ming-Hua looked towards Zaheer. "I'm flattered, you busted me out before that girlfriend of yours."

Zaheer's smile was wide. "We're getting her next.  Then it's on to the last one of us."

Ming-Hua raised an eyebrow at Zaheer's declaration. "Really?  I thought she would've already been pulled out by now.  If she's not running the show, then who is?"

Ghazan nodded towards Rin, earning a surprised look from Ming-Hua. "It's true.  The little pipsqueak has been doing a lot since we've been gone.  Has a lot of good intel on the Avatar and her friends as well."

Ming-Hua grinned at Rin. "Is that so?"

Rin nodded once before turning towards the exit. "Let's get going.  We're wasting time."

_Three down, two to go._

* * *

 

I leaned back in my chair, my deflated mood matching the rest of the group.  Weisman stood behind me, waiting on the next set of coordinates to set in the navigation.  We had yet to decide our next destination, whether it be one of the remaining villages or to Ba Sing Se.  I looked to Korra and Tenzin, wishing that they would hopefully find some motivation in our search.

Tenzin sighed as he looked at the many Xs on our map. "I guess we should just go to Ba Sing Se and try our luck there."

Korra slumped further into her chair. "I don't know what to do.  I just thought more people would be excited about coming with us."

I could see a twinkle in Bumi's eyes as a contagious smile grew on his face. "Well, maybe you gotta do more to get them excited.  You need to add a little razzle dazzle."

At Bumi's suggestion, Bolin's modd seemed to pick up as well. "Yeah!  Razzle Dazzle!  We could put on some sort of airbending street performance."

I smiled a little at Bolin. "Bolin that sounds great and all, but-"

Bumi clapped his hand on Bolin's shoulder. "I was going to say we could cover Tenzin's robe in sequins, but your idea's even better."

They both turned their attention to Korra and Tenzin, matching smiles on their faces.  Korra looked to her mentor, a matching exhausted look on her face as she pondered the idea. "It sounds ridiculous, but it might work."

Tenzin turned his head towards Korra. "I'm willing to try anything at this point."

I looked to Mako with worry as Bolin pumped his fist into the air. "Yes!  That is the kind of enthusiasm I like to hear!"

As Bolin started to plan the street performance with Korra and Tenzin, I decided to head back to my room.  I rubbed my eyes, the lack of sleep over the past few days finally starting to catch up with me.  I was still having the nightmares, though each one was different from the last.  I sat down at my desk, pulling out one of the designs I had brought with me.  It was a slimmer version of my electro-glove, but I had yet to work out the kinks in the power system.  I spent the next few minutes working out the formulas for the current system when a knock broke my concentration.

I turned to see Mako leaning against the doorframe. "Hey."

"Hey."

"You doing ok?"

"Yeah.  I'm fine."

Mako walked in, leaning against the desk.  He looked down at the design on the desk. "New glove?"

I nodded. "Slimmer design, but it should pack the same, if not more, in its punch."

Mako nodded, watching as I went through all of the numbers.  He was silent until he couldn't be any longer. "Have you talked to Korra?"

"About?"

"What happened.  About where it could go.  About the nightmares you've been having for the past week." I looked up at him in surprise. "It wasn't like I didn't know, Asami.  And it's not hard to see that you haven't been getting a lot of sleep."

I sighed, setting my pencil back down on my desk. "Is it that obvious?"

"It is.  What's with you?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Am I really talking to Asami, master of determination and proving people wrong, or am I just talking to someone who thinks she's Asami?"

"Very funny, Mako."

"I'm being serious, Asami.  This isn't you at all, and I really want to know where the real you went."

"I didn't go anywhere, Mako.  It's not like this is the best conversation to have after the past few days we've had."

"Actually, I think this is the best time to talk about it."

I leaned back in my chair, turning to face him. "And what makes you think that?"

"When you're mad and tired, your real thoughts come out."

"That so?  And what makes you so sure of that?"

"We did date once, Asami."

"And look where we ended up."

"Because you fell in love with someone else."

"I'm pretty sure it's because you cheated, and I just ended up dating the girl you cheated on me with weeks later."

Mako rolled his eyes. "Come on, Asami.  Even I knew you had a thing for Korra.  You're terrible at hiding your feelings."

"Makes me feel so much better," I murmured, shoving my glove design back into my desk.

Mako sighed, rubbing his temple. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Then what did you mean, Mako?  Why come to my room at all if you were just going to fight with me?"

"To talk some sense into you.  You haven't been yourself since you and Korra began this weird break-up/not-break-up thing, and it's confusing us all.  In truth, we're just really worried about you two."

"There's no need to be worried.  We're...working it out."

"By tiptoeing around the issue?"

I glared at him. "And just what is your plan for us to fix this?  It's not that simple." The anger that had been building quickly evaporated. "After everything, I'm not surprised she doesn't want to take me back right away."

"That's a lie, and you know it.  Even if it was true, you two deserve each other."

I looked at him, my hands fidgeting on my lap. "What makes you so sure?"

Mako shrugged. "Honestly?  I don't know, but it's a gut feeling I have about you two.  You...complete one another, no matter how cheesy it sounds." He stood, gently clasping my shoulder. "You've been giving each other enough space, but now it's time to show Korra that you do care about her.  That you're willing to put the effort into your relationship.  Show her how much you love her."

He waved to me as he left my room, a silence enveloping around me.  I sighed, leaning back against my seat.  Mako had a point, one that I had been trying to avoid for the past couple weeks.  I hadn't given myself the confidence to try and see if this was actually going to work out.  It was time that I did try, but where to start was another question.  I rubbed my eyes and moved over to my bed, wishing sleep would take me far away from my worries.  For the first time in the past two weeks, it did.

* * *

 

As the others sat around the campfire, discussing the upcoming movement and release of their final companions, Rin found herself climbing up a tree.  She could have easily used her airbending to the top of the tree, but it was the challenge of the climb that interested her.  Would the branch break under her pull?  Would she have to jump to the next spot higher?  What is the chance of her falling back to the ground?  Her mind continued to push out questions such as these, but with every new branch, the chances of those questions becoming reality grew slimmer.

When Rin reached the top of the tree, she leaned back against the trunk and stared up at the clear night sky.  She could hear the differing noses of the wildlife surrounding them mixing in with the conversation from the others below her, and it was calming.  Her hand reached into her shirt, pulling out a locket.  She clicked the locket open, revealing two young girls smiling bright back at her.

_"Smile."_

_They smiled, and Rin couldn't help but giggle at how she was able to keep the funny expression under control.  Her sister looked down at her, the smile being replaced with a slight agitation.  Rin quickly bit her lip and calmed down, not wanting to make her sister angry at her.  Their parents gathered around the picture, nodding at the quality of it._

_Her mother looked at the photographer. "We'll take five copies, please.  Four for lockets and one larger one for a frame to be hung."_

_The photographer nodded, rushing off to get the prints ready for the request.  Rin watched as her parents went to discussing one of their important business meetings when she felt a poke on her shoulder.  She turned towards her sister, who waved her off to a different part of the store.  A smile grew on her face as she eagerly followed her sister._

_When they were far enough away, her sister stopped and turned to face Rin. "I have to leave soon, Rin.  For an important mission."_

_Rin frowned.  She knew that her sister and her group, codenamed Bison, were training for something big, but she had been left out of the loop in most of the details. "When?"_

_"Within the next few days."_

_"When will you be back?"_

_"I don't know yet.  There's a chance I won't return, but it's highly unlikely.  It's the main reason why Mother wanted these pictures done, though."_

_Rin looked back towards her parents before turning back to her sister. "Are the others going with you?"_

_Her sister nodded. "Zaheer is confident that we can accomplish the mission in a night, so I could be back sometime next weekend."_

_Rin clenched her fists together.  Maybe she would be able to finally introduce her sister to Asami.  She looked down at her feet. "I'm going to miss you."_

_Her sister placed a hand on her left shoulder, causing Rin to look up at her.  She was met by a smile that she held only for Rin. "I'll be back before you know it."_

Rin closed the locket, placing it back under her shirt.  She hadn't known that it was that mission that they tried to kidnap Korra when she was just a young girl.  She hadn't known that the plan would fail because of the lack of information given to Team Bison by Unalaq weeks prior to the mission.  First she lost her sister, then she lost her childhood as her parents forced her to relocate to the Fire Nation.  They trained her into a weapon, just as they had to her sister.  She was to take up their mantle; she was to become their new future.  And she was, but her plans were far different than her parents'.

She knew she needed help from the best that the Red Lotus had trained, the most dangerous criminals that were captured years ago.  She needed the men and women that she had considered family.  She needed her sister.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the late post. Today was definitely a rollercoaster of emotions, but here's to the future and happier thoughts!
> 
> Let me know what you think of the chapter, and make sure to follow me on Tumblr!


	6. The Street Show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Third time's the charm, right?

"Come one, come all, and witness the Amazing Airbenders!"

The point of the street performance was to showcase many of Tenzin, Bumi, and Jinora's airbending abilities for the crowd of a nearby village, but it felt more like a circus act than anything with Bolin leading it.  I stood towards the ramp of the airship, watching as Bolin called out to the crowd to draw their attention as Korra stood next to me.  It was a small crowd, but it was better than what we had gone through with the previous villages.

"An airbending show that will leave you breathless with wind!" Bolin continued to shout through one of the megaphones we found on the airship. "First up, the tattooed master himself.  Everyone knows him as the youngest son of the late Avatar Aang, and he even shaves every single hair on his head every single day!" I cringed at the opening that Bolin created for Tenzin; knowing that he was improvizing as he went only made it worse. "It's the one and only guy, with an arrow pointing to his nose:  Tenzin!"

Hearing his cue, Tenzin tossed his Air Nomad robe off and summoned his version of an air scooter to ride out on.  I watched as he rode out in front of the crowd, earning some cheers as he passed by several of them.  He rolled to a stop in the middle of the open space, bowing for the crowd.

Bolin smiled before taking a step towards the crowd, raising the megaphone back to his mouth. "Now, now, ladies and gentlemen.  Please be quiet.  I have some serious news." He paused, a twinkle in his eye as he built up the suspense. "We've heard that an escaped firebending convict has been spotted near here." A few gasps and quick glances swept through the crowd at Bolin's words. "There is no need to cause a panic, but if you see a young man with a red scarf..."

A shout came from the crowd at Bolin's description. "I see him!  He's over there!"

Mako looked up towards Bolin, an irritated look in his eyes as he strolled forward. "I am the escaped convict, and you will all reap my fire," he said in a disinterested voice, sending a small flame into the air above him.

I frowned at his acting.  I knew Mako didn't agree with the performance, and I agreed with him on many points, but we needed the innocent attention that a street performance could bring.  The least he could do was put some effort into the performance.

Bolin gasped, covering his mouth with his hands. "Oh no!  Who will help us?"

"I will with my airbending skills!" At least we could count on Korra for getting into character.  Despite Mako's clear lack of devotion, Korra was more than willing to put the effort in.  She spun her hands in a circle, a demonstration of one of the many airbending forms Tenzin had taught her early in her training, before taking a step towards Mako.  Korra swept Mako high into the air, dropping him onto a soft cushion before doing it once more.

I couldn't help but chuckle as I watched Korra practically tossed Mako around in the air, even as he yelled at her to go back to what they had rehearsed.  I couldn't help but laugh as Korra continued her antics; when she finally dropped him to his feet, Korra and I were wearing matching smiles to Mako's irritated glare.  Bolin smiled as he watched his brother take his spot next to Bumi, who was equally trying to contain his laughter, when Oogi made his graceful appearance above us.

The children of the crowd squealed at the sight, their hands tugging on their parents' arms as they pointed towards the sky at the flying bison. "With the power of airbending, even this beast can float like a feather!" Bolin cheered with the children, watching as Oogi performed small acrobatics in the air above us.

Bolin smiled to Bumi, confident that we had captured the crowd's attention.  Bumi nodded, taking his steps forward as he began to airbend in front of the crowd.  Bolin waved towards him, his bright smile never wavering. "Look what can be done in only a few short weeks of practice!"

For the finale, Jinora swooped in on her glider, earning gasps as part of the crowd ducked underneath her. "Don't worry, folks!  She might be young, but she is in full control," Bolin called out, watching as Jinora waved to the crowd before gliding back over to us.

Once everyone had returned to the large group, Bolin turned back towards the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen," he called out. "If you or anyone you know is an airbender, please send them our way.  Master Tenzin and Avatar Korra would love to teach them all they know."

Sensing the end of the performance, the people of the crowd were in smiles as they left, but none made their way towards us.  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see both Tenzin's and Korra's shoulders start to slump.  Even after all the effort in the performances, there were still no interest in helping to rebuild the Air Nation.  I watched as Jinora looked up towards her father, a worried look in her eyes, only to be met with a reassuring smile and gentle shoulder squeeze from her father.

It was then that I heard a soft sound coming from a group by the water fountain.  A couple of children was grouped around an older gentleman as he tried to tune the guitar on his lap.  The children were shouting song suggestions at him, but the man could only smile apologetically at them.  I walked over to them, taking a seat next to the gentleman.

"Mind if I see your guitar, sir?" I asked, nodding towards the instrument.

The gentleman nodded, handing it over to me.  Thankful for the many music lessons my father had signed me up for when I was younger, I was able to tune the guitar with little difficulty.  I made a mental note about the string conditions but quickly fell into an easy rhythm.  Looking up towards the children, I saw that Korra was standing with Bolin and Jinora, watching me with smiles on their faces.  Then a thought hit me.  My fingers started to strum on their own, and a song began to sing out to those around us.  I watched as Korra's brow furrowed, trying to figure out where the familiar tune was, as I started to sing.

 _Oh, her eyes, her eyes make the stars look like they're not shining_    
_Her hair, her hair falls perfectly without her trying_    
_She's so beautiful_    
_And I tell her everyday_

 _Yeah, I know, I know when I compliment her, she won't believe me_    
_And it's so, it's so sad to think that she doesn't see what I see_    
_But every time she_ _ask_ _me do I look okay?_    
_I say_

 _When I see your face_    
_There's not a thing that I would change_    
_'Cause_ _you're amazing_    
_Just the way you are_

 _And when you smile_    
_The whole world stops and_ _stares_ _for a while_    
_'Cause_ _girl, you're amazing_    
_Just the way you are_

The children moved closer to me, mesmerized by the song, and soon the crowd that once had been watching the street performance was slowly rebuilding.  I could see Jinora and Bolin's smiles growing on their faces, but it was Korra's expression that caught my attention.  It had always been easy to read the emotions on Korra's face, and right now, all I could see was love.  I smiled at her, looking at the children with an encouraging smile.  Taking the hint, the children began to sing along with me.

 _Her lips, her lips, I could kiss them all day if she'd let me_    
_Her laugh, her laugh, she hates but I think it's so sexy_    
_She's so beautiful_    
_And I tell her everyday_

 _Oh, you know, you know, you know I'd never ask you to change_    
_If_ _perf_ _ect's_ _what you're searching for, then just stay the same_    
_So_ _don't even bother asking if you look okay_    
_You know I'll say_

 _When I see your face_    
_There's not a thing that I would change_    
_'Cause_ _you're amazing_    
_Just the way you are_

 _And when you smile_    
_The whole world stops and_ _stares_ _for a while_    
_'Cause_ _girl, you're amazing_    
_Just the way you are_

 _The way you are_    
_The way you are_    
_Girl, you're amazing_    
_Just the way you are_

When I looked back towards the others, my eyes found themselves locked with Korra's.  I found myself falling deep into Korra's blue eyes, like their was no one else in the world but the two of us.  And for a moment, it was like she was thinking the same.

 _When I see your face_    
_There's not a thing that I would change_    
_'Cause_ _you're amazing_    
_Just the way you are_

 _And when you smile_    
_The whole world stops and_ _stares_ _for a while_    
_'Cause_ _girl, you're amazing_    
_Just the way you are_

The crowd erupted into applause as the song ended, and I couldn't help the blush that rose to my cheeks.  I thanked them for the applause, handing the guitar back to the gentleman before making my way back towards Bolin, Korra, and Jinora.  All three of them had smiles on, but it was Bolin who reached out to me first.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a side hug. "What was that all about?"

I shrugged. "Spur of the moment thing?"

Jinora chuckled, and Bolin's smile only grew. "Sure it was.  Sure it was."

At Bolin's suggestive tone, I could feel my cheeks start to burn.  I quickly gave him a shove. "It was!"

As they laughed at my embarrassment, a young boy made his was over to us.  He looked to be around Jinora's age, and his smirk matched the troublemaker haircut he wore.  The sides of his head were shaved down, while the longer portions of his hair on the top of his head was a mess.  There was a story about this boy, and I had a feeling I was about to learn it.

He looked to Korra, a smile peeking out from behind his smirk. "Are you still looking for airbenders, Avatar Korra?"

Korra looked to the boy. "I am."

The boy's smile brightened as he began to airbend in front of her. "Well, look no further!"

Korra chuckled at his demonstration of his abilities. "Well, well, well.  Looks like we have an airbender before us."

"I want to come join you guys if the offer is still open."

Korra looked towards Tenzin, who had walked over with Mako and Bumi at the sounds of the boy's demonstration. "Looks like we found your first recruit, Tenzin." Korra looked back towards the boy. "Just to be clear, we're going to be heading to Ba Sing Se, then the Northern Air Temple to help you begin living as an Air Nomad.  You're the first in the building of the Air Nation.  Does all of that sound good to you?"

The boy nodded fast. "Yeah.  Ba Sing Se, rebuild the temple, Air Nomad lifestyle.  I'm in.  Can we go now?"

Tenzin placed his hand on Korra's shoulder. "I don't see why not." He turned towards me. "Is the airship ready to go?"

"I'll go check right now to see." I made my way up the ramp to the airship, vaguely catching that the boy's name was Kai.

I found Weisman working on a few maintenance repairs in the engine room, oil covering his hands as he finished tightening one of the pipes. "Everything look alright?"

He looked up at me as he placed his tools away. "Yes, ma'am.  Once we reach Ba Sing Se, I do want to go through a full rundown of the engine to see how she's faired on the journey, but there doesn't look to be anything of concern at the moment."

I nodded. "Awesome.  Let me know if that changes, but for now, go ahead and prep the airship for takeoff.  We've found our first recruit, and I'm sure the others are ready to head off for the next village for more recruits."

Weisman nodded and began to make his way towards the bridge.  I made my way back to the ramp to find the others staring out the window towards the village.  Judging by Mako and Korra's expressions, something bad was about to happen.

I looked to Bolin, who was standing behind Kai. "What's going on?"

He turned towards me, his hands gripping Kai's shoulders. "Kai's an orphan, and the outlaws who killed his parents followed him here.  They just pulled into the village, and we're pretty sure they're looking for Kai."

From outside the airship, I could hear a man shout an order to release Kai, threatening to use force if we didn't comply.  I looked to Korra, who had moved over to Mako's side. "We can never catch a break, can we?" I heard her ask him.

Mako chuckled at her question. "I don't think so."

Korra nodded, allowing for the doors to open before she made her way out. "If you want Kai, then you're going to have to go through us first," she announced before sending a wave of air towards the outlaws.

The wave she sent was met by several blocks of earth, but Korra had a quicker reaction time.  She sent two more waves of air at them, knocking several on their backs and into the nearby fountain.  I rushed out with Mako, sliding my glove onto my hand.  We watched as the leader of the outlaws swung two pieces of earth towards Korra, only to be blocked by a wall of earth.  Korra slammed her heel into the ground, sending a quake towards the leader.  He was launched into the air, slamming hard into the edge of the fountain.

Korra straightened, her body still tense and ready for any retaliation. "Your days of harassing an innocent boy are over.  You outlaws are going to prison."

The leader looked up at Korra, confusion written all over his face. "Outlaws?  Innocent boy?" The man pulled himself to his feet, rubbing his ribs. "I'm a sheriff, and these are my deputies.  That 'innocent boy' is a thief that we've been tracking for months."

As the man spoke, I could see Kai slowly start to make his way away from Mako and I.  We both reacted to it, each grabbing an arm and keeping him planted between us, when Korra turned towards him. "And just where did you think you were going?" Mako asked him, pulling his bag off of his shoulder.

"I was just going to go to the bathroom!"

My grip on his arm tightened. "We don't appreciate the lying, Kai."

Mako released his hold on Kai's other arm and looked into the bag before turning his eyes back towards the young boy. "Quite a sack of gold you have here, kid," he said before tossing it back towards the sheriff.

Kai tugged hard on his arm, but there was no way that I was going to let him go. "I told you, I found that on the road!"

"Kai, you've been caught.  Just tell us the truth," I told him, pushing him towards the center of our group and right in front of the sheriff.

The sheriff crossed his arms over his chest. "The truth is that he's the outlaw.  He's spent his entire life as an orphan until he got adopted by a real nice family about six months ago," he explained, watching as two of his deputies came over and put their hands on Kai's shoulders. "How did he go about repaying them?  By taking their entire life savings." He turned his head to look at Korra. "We've been after him ever since."

Korra sighed, turning towards Kai. "Is this true, Kai?"

Kai looked at her pleadingly. "The person who did all of that was the old me.  You've got to believe me; I want to change.  It's like airbending gave me a new look on life, but that's the best way I can describe it.  It was like it chose me for something, but I just don't know what it is yet.  Please, take me with you.  Let me prove that I've changed.  Please!"

The sheriff nodded to his men, and we watched as they started to drag Kai back towards their vehicles.  Bolin took a step forward. "Are you taking him back to the orphanage?" He asked the sheriff.

The sheriff stopped, turning to Bolin with a hardened look in his eyes. "No.  He's going to jail."

Kai looked over his shoulder at us, a pleading look in his eyes.  We were silent for a moment before I took a step forward. "Now just wait a minute." The deputies stopped in their tracks, and everyone turned to me. "You got the family's life savings back; leave Kai in our care."

Korra took a step forward, a determined look matching mine. "I agree with my friend, sheriff.  You have what you came for, so leave him with us."

Tenzin seemed flabbergasted at our sudden choice. "Are you sure you want our first airbender to be this young boy?  He's already proven to us that he's a liar and a thief."

Korra turned to Tenzin. "He's also the only one who has been willing to join us, Tenzin." A smirk began to grow on her face. "He just needs a bit of guidance.  It wouldn't be your first pupil to need such a thing, now would it?"

The others couldn't help but smile at Korra's words as she turned back to the sheriff. "Are you sure you want to take him with you?"

I nodded. "We're sure."

The sheriff eyed us for a moment before nodding towards his deputies.  They released their grips on Kai, and he ran straight to me, wrapping his arms tight around me. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

I smiled down at him, my hand squeezing his shoulder. "You get one chance, Kai.  Don't make us regret this, alright?"

He nodded, looking to Bolin as he made his way to my right.  He wrapped Kai, Korra, Jinora, and I into a tight hug with a wide smile on his face. "Welcome to the family, Little Bro!"

Kai chuckled. "Little Bro?"

Bolin smiled as he released us from the hug. "Let's just say that I see a lot of me in you, kid."

I watched as Kai made his way towards the ship, only to be stopped by Mako.  I couldn't hear what was being said, but from the expression Mako was giving him, it looked to be another warning that Kai was going to be under heavy surveillance.  Once everyone but Mako and I had made their way up the ramp and into the airship, I made my way over to Mako's side.

"Warned him to behave?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at Mako.

He nodded once. "Bolin was right about one thing; I see a lot of us in the boy, which worries me."

"We'll have a close eye on him, and I'll be sure to let Weisman know to up the security on the more important parts of the ship just in case."

Mako nodded, following me up the ramp and into the airship.  The rebuilding of the Air Nation was finally starting with its first recruit, and Ba Sing Se was just around the corner.  We may have found the break that we had been waiting for in Kai, but only time would tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boyce Avenue's version was the version in mind, if anyone was wondering!


	7. Welcome to Ba Sing Se

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Krew has arrived at Ba Sing Se! Will they find the airbenders that they're looking for?

Bringing Kai along with us created a certain development that none of us were planning on happening.  He brought in an unknown factor, and it was fascinating to watch everyone adapt to his presence.  We were only a few hours out from Ba Sing Se, so at Jinora's suggestion, Bumi was to spar with Kai to see where his skills laid.  Bumi may have had the experience, but one of his biggest weaknesses was that he liked to talk a lot.  As Jinora called out encouraging points to her uncle, Kai sent a smirk to Bumi before charging towards him.  He threw his body into a sliding kick, sending a wave across his body to knock Bumi's feet from under him.  I winced as he hit the deck chin first, a groan escaping his bruised jaw and ego.

Jinora shook her head, scolding her uncle for poor form before she and Kai helped him to his feet.  I could see the innocent banter between the two, making a mental note to ask, and possibly tease, Jinora about it later.  I chuckled when Bumi realized that Kai had pocketed his wallet, watching as the older man chased the thief around the deck in an attempt to regain his wallet.  I stepped forward, tossing my jacket onto a nearby chair.

"How about you and I spar, Kai?" I suggested, watching him toss Bumi his wallet back.

Kai raised an eyebrow at my suggestion, crossing his arms over his chest. "Think you can keep up?"

I gave him a smirk of my own, taking up a defensive stance. "Try me."

We began to circle each other, and I could vaguely hear cheers from Bolin from the deck above us.  Kai was the first to make a move, sending in a wave of air towards me before charging at me.  The wave was supposed to knock my feet from out beneath me, allowing for Kai to have a chance at a high strike if I were to dodge it in the air.  I jumped forward, tucking into a roll that allowed me to miss the wave of air but also to duck under Kai's swinging arm.

Coming out of the roll, I planted my hands before swinging my legs to my right in a circle.  Kai tried leaping into the air to dodge my legs, but my heel caught his right ankle.  The force of the connection knocked Kai off balance, and he fell hard onto his back.  Shaken by the impact, it took him a moment to focus, but by then, my hand was held in a striking position right above his chest.

"From here, it would be easy to knock the breath out of you, so I would recommend yielding," I said with a smile.

Kai held up his hands, a small smile on his face. "Alright, alright.  I yield."

I smiled back, holding out a hand to him.  I could feel the strength behind his grip as I pulled him to his feet.  As Jinora came over to us to give Kai a few pointers, I could hear a commotion from the deck above us.  I looked up to see Bolin yelling at Mako to join him as he pointed towards the horizon.  I turned towards where Bolin had been pointing to see the first wall of Ba Sing Se was right before us.

"We get to see where Dad grew up, Mako!" I could hear Bolin practically scream.

His excitement was spreading as the airship moved closer to the first wall.  When my father had control over Future Industries, he had made several trips to Ba Sing Se, but not once had I been able to attend with him.  From the conversations that I was hearing between Korra and Tenzin, it sounded as if this was the first time in Ba Sing Se for a lot of people.  The excitement, the thrill of what was beyond the wall, was...

...quickly diminished at the true sight of the lower ring.  I knew that Ba Sing Se had a structure to where the people lived, but to truly see the difference between the walls was unsettling.  The housing of the lower ring were slums described nicely.  Even the poorer parts of Republic City were better than what we were seeing.  I already had fifty new designs prepared that could help the improvement of the lower ring in the ten minutes we had traveled above the ring itself.  I moved up to the higher deck to stand with Korra, Bolin, and Mako, but neither of us were prepared for the smell that began to drift up towards us.

The middle ring was definitely a change of pace.  Many of the citizens that resided in this ring reminded me of those back home in Republic City, and it hit a chord.  The gap between the lower and middle rings was surprisingly large, and it made me wonder if the Earth Queen knew how much the lower ring citizens were suffering from it.  From the little knowledge that Tenzin knew of the Earth Queen, though, it sounded as if she didn't give much thought to those portions of her subjects.

Then there was the upper ring.  The one ring left for the Earth Queen and only her.  As Weisman began to bring the airship towards the landing strip, I made a mental note of the Cabbage Corp airships that were already present, the Earth Kingdom's logo proudly displayed on the sides of the airships.  As if sensing my distaste for the presence of a rival, Korra placed her hand on my shoulder, an easy smile on her lips.  I sighed, a pout threatening to make an appearance as the airship gently lurched to a halt.

Guards and a scrawny middle-aged man met us at the end of the ramp.  The man's eyes lit up as Korra and Tenzin moved closer to him. "Avatar Korra, Master Tenzin, it is a pleasure to welcome you and your party to the upper ring of Ba Sing Se.  I'm Grand Secretary Gun."

Korra gave a formal bow to Gun. "Thank you."

Gun smiled at the gesture before turning his head to Bolin, who had moved to the front of the group with Pabu and Nala.  Nala's tongue was hanging out as she sat next to Bolin's feet.  I held in a chuckle as Bolin sniffed the air and Gun recoiled in horror, though it looked to be more at Pabu and Nala rather Bolin's antics.

He looked to Korra, fear spreading quickly over his face. "Please, you must have those animals return to your airship.  The Queen hates animals."

Korra looked to Pabu and Nala before Oogi dropped down beside us. "Well...uh...that's going to be a bit difficult."

Gun rubbed his temple before quickly ushering us to follow him. "Hurry, then.  I must take you to your quarters."

Tenzin had Oogi return to the top of the airship, out of sight of everyone around it, while Nala and Pabu made the walk with the group.  Gun was quick to explain every little detail of dos-and-don’ts in regards of manners towards the Queen, but it sounded trivial with majority of it.  We had just managed to hit the order of eating when it came to the meals when Korra spoke up after one of Gun's comments about not eating.

"Sounds like an awful lot of rules to follow," she said as she looked to the pond we were walking next to.

Gun sighed, his shoulders relaxing slightly only to return to their tense position. "You have no idea, and I'm the one who gets in trouble when people don't follow them, so please, please, for my sake, just try not to upset Her Majesty."

The building where we were to be staying in was very nice, practically screaming how much wealth the Earth Queen had, but I still preferred my home back in Republic City.  After warning to keep Nala and Pabu in the back and out of sight, Gun took Korra to meet with the Earth Queen herself.  While waiting on Korra to return from her meeting with the Earth Queen, the rest of us proceeded to look around our temporary housing arrangements.  Bolin and Bumi were equally excited about it, while Tenzin decided to take a seat and to pull up plans for the Air Nation.

It was then that I caught Jinora looking around slightly worried. "Jinora, what's wrong?"

My question caught everyone's attention, and I saw Mako moved to my right out the corner of my eye.  Jinora bit her lip before looking up at me. "Has anyone seen Kai?"

I blinked, looking around the main room.  By Bolin's calls from the second floor, it only seemed to confirm Jinora's worries.  Kai wasn't with us.  I started to run through the route from the airship to the housing and looked to Mako. "I don't think I've seen him since we've arrived.  Where could he have gone?"

I could see Mako clench and unclench his fists quickly at his sides. "I knew that kid was up to no good.  He was just waiting for an opportunity to run away again."

Jinora's eyes widened at Mako's words. "We have to find him then!"

"What's the point?  He obviously doesn't care about us."

I put my hand on Mako's shoulder, stopping him, before looking to the rest of our group. "We don't know if he ran off or not.  What matters right now is that we find him."

Mako pulled his shoulder away. "Weren't you listening?  It doesn't-"

I held up my hand at Mako, my eyes narrowing at him. "If he did run off at this 'opportunity,' then just imagine the trouble Korra could get in to if we don't find him and the guards do."

"Asami's right," Tenzin spoke up, and I turned to see him put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "He's our responsibility.  Besides the obvious danger that he could walk in to, he's also the only airbender we've been able to recruit.."

Mako sighed, his shoulders sagging. "Bolin and I will go look for him.  The rest of you wait here for Korra to come back."

I raised an eyebrow at Mako. "Why just the two of you?"

"Someone needs to be back here when Korra comes back, and Bolin and I are probably the experts in how to track down Kai, even in Ba Sing Se.  Plus," Mako smiled at Bolin. "it'll give us a chance to go sightseeing."

I rolled my eyes, a smile of my own appearing at Bolin's shout of glee. "Just be careful, alright?  We'll wait here until you return and go from there."

Mako nodded, walking out the door with Bolin close on his heels.  As their voices began to disappear, a crash from behind caught the rest of our attention.  Tenzin and I quickly moved to the nose, only to find Bumi in the kitchen area, several pots and pans strung out around him.  Tenzin huffed at his brother's situation, moving forward to help him clean up the mess, when the slamming of the front door signaled someone's return.  Seeing that Tenzin had the Bumi situation covered, I came out to find Korra irritated and looking around the main room.

"How'd your meeting go with the Earth Queen?" I asked, moving over to her.

She looked up at me after Nala trudged up to rub her head against Korra's leg. "She is so much more self-centered than Tenzin warned.  She wants me to go get her taxes from a village that's been plagued by bandits before she even thinks about helping us find more airbenders."

I frowned. "Are they that big of a problem?"

"Probably just a few of them, but the way the Queen makes it sound, it might as well be a large army."

"That bad huh?"

"Worse." Korra sighed. "Let's go grab the others and go get that money."

I put my hand on Korra's shoulder, stopping her from leaving the main room. "Mako and Bolin are out trying to find Kai right now." Korra gave me a questioning look. "No one had seen him since we landed, and Mako thinks that he went off to go back to his old ways."

Korra sighed, hands on her hips. "That kid.  Well, I guess we'll just have to wait until they get back then."

As Korra moved to sit at the table, a thought popped into my mind. "Why don't the two of us go instead?  Weisman is still on the airship, so he can have it ready for us in a few minutes."

Korra looked up at me. "Just the two of us?"

I nodded, looking towards the kitchen. "Tenzin, Jinora, and Bumi can stay back and wait for the boys to return with Kai, and we can go get that money for the Earth Queen.  Speed everything up rather than waiting on the boys to come back."

I watched as the gears in Korra's mind began to churn before her goofy smile made its appearance. "Let's do it!"

True to my word and a quick text to Weisman, the airship was ready to go by the time Korra, Nala, and I had made our way back to it.  Nala was insistent that she not be left behind, and who could say no to that puppy face?  Certainly not Korra...and frankly, neither could I.  Weisman quickly turned the ship to the direction of the village, but I could see that he wasn't confident in our decision.

"Are you sure it's going to be ok just the two of you?" He asked, gently turning the wheel to right the airship.

Korra nodded. "The Queen said that there would be royal guards waiting at the vault in the village.  I doubt anything will really happen." I watched as she dropped into a nearby seat. "Really, I think she just likes ordering people around, including me.  You should've seen how she treated the workers in her garden during our meeting."

It was going to take us at least a day to get to the village, so I took the opportunity to head to my room.  The small sparing match I had with Kai earlier in the day left an impression on me, leaving me with a workout itch.  I quickly changed into my workout gear and headed to the training room, only to find Korra had already beat me to it.  Her head popped up at the door closing behind me, her eyes widening slightly.

"Oh, hey!  Sorry, I didn't know you were coming here," she apologized, holding a hand out to stop the punching bag from its swing.

I smiled, walking over to throw my towel onto one of the chairs. "It's no big deal.  My small sparing match with Kai earlier got me itching for a workout, so I thought that I'd sneak one in tonight."

Korra's eyes seemed to light up at the mention of the sparing match. "How about you and I spar then?  Get it out of your system."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "You and me spar?" She nodded. "Are you going to complain when I pin you?"

Korra laughed at my suggestion. "You?  Pin me?  As if, Sato."

"You hold yourself pretty high then, Sparks."

Korra nodded towards the mat, a smile on her face as she waited for me to toss my shoes off.  She knelt into a defensive position, her smile more of a smirk.  I took my own stance, bending my knees slightly with my left foot forward and bringing my hands up loosely in front of me.  Starting to move in a circle, Korra rushed me, throwing a left hook before a right one.  I batted both away, careful to note how easily it was.  As I batted her right hook away, I used the momentum to swing my right leg around.  Korra, quick on her feet, brought her torso back to dodge my kick.  She threw a hard punch with her right hand, forcing me back but not off my feet.

Korra smiled at me, and I narrowed my eyes.   _She's teasing me._ A smile of my own appeared.   _Alright, no more holding back then._ I charged at her, noting how her body tensed, before ducking down and sweeping my leg at her feet.  Korra jumped into the air, and I took advantage of her airtime to launch my shoulder at her.  Knocking the wind out of her, I used my momentum in the tackle to bring her down to the mat and quickly rolled her over, pinning her arm behind her back.

"So, still think you can beat me?" I asked close to her ear.

Korra struggled a bit, testing out my hold on her arm, before she relented. "Fine, fine.  You've got a good hold.  Can we get up now?"

I smiled, easing off of her arm.  Bad mistake.  As soon as her arm was free, Korra jabbed me in my ribs and quickly spun us over.  I was too dazed at the shot that I wasn't fast enough to stop her.  She grabbed my arms and pinned them above my head, her famous smirk preceding down at me.

"Cheat."

"I mean, I didn't use my bending on you."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Still a cheat."

It was only after the brief silence that followed that both of us realized how close we were to each other.   _Cue blush._

Korra's face began to turn a bright red as she moved off of me. "Uh...Sorry I didn't mean to..."

I sat up quickly. "No, it's alright.  It's fine."

"So uh...see you in the morning?"

"Yeah...sounds good."

Korra quickly made her way out of the training room, leaving me to drown in embarrassment.  I felt like I was in high school all over again.  Hell, high school was probably better than this because there wasn't any messy debate on whether we were dating or we weren't.  It wasn't this stuff; it was simpler.

But when has our lives ever been simple?

* * *

 

She bit her bottom lip as she watched the dragon soar above them.   _Lord Zuko's here, which means they're onto us.  Damn it!_ Rin turned towards where the dragon had come from, and no doubt it had been in the direction of the Northern Water Tribe.  She looked down at Zaheer, her anger building.

"We can't let them interfere."

Zaheer reached out, placing his hand on Rin's leg. "And we won't.  This just means we have an extra layer of security to go through.  We'll get P'Li out, then it's on to your sister."

Rin pulled away from Zaheer, walking over to their snowmobiles.  She knew everything was running too smoothly; all of it had been too easy.  Now the universe was getting back at her.  It had sent the famous former Fire Lord Zuko after her and the chiefs of the Northern Water Tribe were no doubt with him.   _Those traitors._ Unalaq was an idiot, that much Rin knew, but she had never expected his children to double-cross the Red Lotus like they had.  The thought of them helping the Avatar during Harmonic Convergence only fueled her rage.

"Pipsqueak." Ghazan's voice brought her out of her dark thoughts, and she turned to see the man standing right behind her. "You alright?"

"Fine," she mumbled, looking away from him.

"That's some bravado you've got going on right now, but even I can see through it."

Rin huffed. "Everything was going so smoothly, but there's Zuko trying to fuck everything up.  It's just so...IRRITATING."

Ghazan chuckled, reaching out to rub his hand on Rin's head. "You definitely have your father's temper, that's for sure.  Maybe your sister will help bring out some of your mother's characteristics once we reach her."

Rin narrowed her eyes at Ghazan before turning back towards the snowmobile.  The thought of her sister being freed was exhilarating but frightening at the same time. "Will she take back control?"

Ghazan tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

Rin took in a deep breath, released it, and turned to Ghazan. "Will she take back control of Team Bison once we've free her?"

Ghazan shrugged at her question. "Who knows.  Maybe, maybe not.  Your sister was only in charge because your parents were in charge.  I mean, it helped that she was the best firebender we had in the Red Lotus, but it wasn't a role she really wanted.  Maybe she takes it back to finish what she started, or maybe she lets you keep going.  We're all together because of you and Zaheer, Pipsqueak.  Give yourself some more credit."

Rin sighed, nodding at Ghazan's answer.  He smiled, patting Rin's shoulder before returning to Zaheer and Ming-Hua.  There was small laughter, and for once, Rin saw an easiness amongst Team Bison.  Something she hadn't seen since her time with Asami and her friends.  Rin's hands clenched at the memory, rejuvenating her promise.  Her promise to show Asami that she had chosen wrong, and her promise to end the Avatar.  Korra was going to pay, and Rin relished the thought.   _Soon._


	8. Stolen Goods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra and Asami go to the village to pick up the taxes owed to the Queen.

There were so many red flags going off in my head as we approached the village.  There was no sign of life in the village, as if it had been abandoned.  Weisman directed the airship to the village square, and I watched as Korra scanned out the window.  She was suspicious of the silence as well if her hardened expression was anything to speak of.  She turned to me and gave me a nod, leading the way to the ramp.  On my way past my room, I quickly grabbed the new glove, slipping it on as I checked the charge.   _Not the testing I would have like to have done first, but now's a good a time as any._

We walked towards the building that had the Queen's symbol blazed on the front, the pickup just behind the door with its guards.  As we walked, Korra and I could see the citizens of the villages pulling their loved ones back inside, slamming the doors shut.  It was the fear in their eyes that only heightened my suspicion and my worry.  I could see Korra tensing up as she watched the citizens retreated out the corner of her eyes.

"I don't like the looks of this," she whispered, her hands clenching into fists as we moved closer to the Queen's building. "Let’s hurry up and get out of here."

I nodded.  The guards must have seen our arrival as they were quick to open the doors.  The lead guard shifted his eyes from us to the village then back. "You here for the tax shipment?"

Korra nodded. "Go ahead and load it on the airship."

The guard nods, motioning towards his team.  They moved quickly to bring the bags of gold out to a cart that was to the left of the building.  The lead guard watched as his men loaded the cart, his watchful eyes stealing glimpses out towards the far end of the village.  With the last of the bags of gold in the cart, the men started to walk it towards the airship.  Korra put her hands on her hips, watching the men, when a boom sounded in the distance.

A red flare shot into the air above the village, and the guards stopped.  Their heads were on quick swivels as they looked around the village, and that's when I heard it:  the sounds of engines.  Several motorcycles and a couple of large trucks began to swarm the open square, spears and swords in their hands.  The guards immediately turned and sprinted back towards us, leaving the cart of gold stranded halfway towards the airship.

Korra caught the arm of the lead guard, pulling him to a stop. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Anywhere but here!" He shouted, pulling his arm out of Korra's reach before rushing inside with his men.

I sighed, turning on the charge of my glove. "So much for our escorts."

Korra looked to me with an apologetic smile. "Maybe we should've waited for the guys to get back."

We made our way towards the gold, even as the bandits began to surround us.  They laughed and whistled at us, and I could just feel my blood start to boil.  As they settled around us, one made his way out of the truck to our right.  The sides of his head were shaved down, and the top part of his hair was dyed a bright green and pulled back into a ponytail.  His face was painted like a skull, and his beard featured a wide strip of bright green that matched his hair.  He had bandages wrapped around his arms, and a studded plate on his right shoulder.  If it were anyone other than Korra and I, then I could understand the attempt at being menacing.

"Step away from the gold, ladies, and you won't get hurt," he said, hands on his hips in what he thought was an intimidating posture.

Korra scoffed at his attempt, taking a step forward. "Sorry to disappoint, but we're taking this gold back to Ba Sing Se."

The man chuckled, walking towards us. "Aw, we love gals with spirit, don't we boys?" The men around us cheered in answer.  The man looked at them with a smile before turning back towards us. "Suit yourself."

Big mistake on their part, really.

The man swung his leg towards Korra's head, but she dodged it with ease, bringing her own leg around to sweep him off of his feet.  As she brought her foot back down, Korra looked to her left and earthbent a couple columns underneath two of the motorcycles.  The passengers of the motorcycles screamed as they were flung into the air.  More of the cycles were launched as well, forcing the remaining to move out of the way.  

One decided to make a break for me, and I couldn't help but flash a smile at them.  I ran forward towards the cycle, jumping into the air.  I could see the brief hesitation in the bandit's eyes before my right leg swung back, scissor-kicking him off of the bike.  I turned to see another cycle coming towards me, but a wall of earth was raised in their path.  The bike was forced to my left as I heard its owner slam hard into the wall.  I turned to see Korra smiling at me, and I could only roll my eyes as I turned back towards the bandits.

Two tried to split us up away from the cart.  Korra went for the one going towards the gold, while I ran to meet the other.  My opponent had a spear with him, but it was clear he was inexperienced with it.  I jumped into the air to dodge his spear, grabbing his shoulder with my glove.  The charge forced him off of the bike, and his partner wasted no time in moving away from me.  I turned to see Korra had driven off the rest of the bandits.  I joined her as we watched the bandits begin to retreat from the city.

"You're on the wrong side of this fight, Avatar!" The lead bandit shouted as his group faded from our view. "That gold belongs to the people, not the Queen!"

Korra sighed, looking towards me. "Why do I get the feeling he's right?"

I placed my hand on her shoulder. "Let's just get this money back to Ba Sing Se, and hopefully the guys will have returned."

Korra nodded, watching as the guards came out to reload the gold back into the cart.  As I watched them load the cart back up, a movement out the corner of my eye caught my attention.  I could see children huddled near a door, fear on their face.  They seemed to shrink farther away when they caught me staring.  To see such fear left my heart in pain, and I couldn't help but think back to the bandit's words.  There were answers we needed, and the only person who could give them to us was the Earth Queen herself.

When we returned to Ba Sing Se, our first destination was the Queen's audience chambers.  Gun wasn't too thrilled when it was made clear I was going to join Korra in her meeting with the Queen, but neither Korra or I were going to budge in that regard.  He relented with a deep sigh before leading us to her, and the stories from Korra and Tenzin made sense as I took in my first view of the Queen.  The air around her reminded me of the children in my father's circle:  stuck up, selfish, an elitist air to them.  It was made even worse when she looked at Korra and I, the clear distaste in my unwarranted arrival.

Gun bowed to the Queen, a nervous smile on his face. "Your Majesty, the Avatar and her friend have returned with the tax payments."

The Queen huffed. "Finally." She looked to the Dai Li next to her. "Secure the payment in the vault!"

I watched as the Dai Li left at the Queen's orders, only to be brought back to the meeting when Korra spoke up. "Now, Your Majesty, I would like to start meeting with some of the airbenders around the city."

The smile that appeared on the Queen's face said much more than the story she told us.  According to her, there were no airbenders to be found, even after a thorough sweep by the Dai Li.  She was quick to push us out of her hall with the "request" that we leave by tomorrow.  With how quickly the Queen maneuvered us out of the hall at the mention of airbenders, it only made me start to worry about them.  I could only hope that Bolin and Mako had found Kai before the Queen's agents had.

* * *

 

She could see it.  The snow was supposed to cover their entrance, but she could see the prison.  She looked up towards the truck where Zaheer stood airbending the snow around them.  He looked down at her, a question in his eyes.  Rin smiled and nodded.   _Time to break out_ _P'Li_ _._ Zaheer matched her smile and stopped the bending, allowing for the truck to launch out of the snow cloud.  Ming-Hua and Zaheer launched themselves into the air, leading the charge towards the prison.  Rin could make out the Northern and Southern Water Tribe Chiefs and Lord Zuko rushing towards them.

Revving the engine, Rin sent the snowmobile flying towards the four, forcing them to separate.  She watched as the Southern Water Tribe Chief, Tonraq, turned to face her and recognition come over his features before a blast of air from Zaheer forced him to change his attention to the battle at hand.  Rin turned towards the other two chiefs, hatred fueling through her veins.

"Traitors!" She shouted as she charged with Ming-Hua towards them.

Esna and Desna tried their best to delay the charge, but their shared movements were too easy to predict.  Not even their wall of ice spikes could stop them; Rin threw herself into the air to dodge each spike, while Ming-Hua swung through the area.  Rin threw two blasts of air at the twins, forcing them off of their feet and allowing Ming-Hua to freeze them to the ground.  Rin landed softly in-between them, kneeling so that they could look her in the eyes.

"Pray that I never see you two again, because if I do, you won't see the next day," she said in a hushed voice, eyes narrowed at the twins.

Rin rose to her feet as Ming-Hua used her waterbending to drill a hole into the ground, effectively bypassing the prison's initial defenses.  Rin jumped through the newly made hole, watching as Ming-Hua took out the immediate guards before landing next to the door.  She looked through the gated window, confirming P'Li's presence.

P'Li looked surprised when Rin's face came into view. "Rin?"

Rin nodded before taking a step back, allowing for Ming-Hua to bending the metal of the door to force it open.  She stepped inside as the door fell in front of them, and for a moment, Rin felt at peace by the way P'Li looked at her.  She waited as Ming-Hua made short work of the metal bindings on P'Li, watching as they fell to the ground.  She dare not move, not until P'Li finally turned to look at her.

P'Li smiled. "Long time no see, Little One."

That was all that was needed.  Rin through herself into P'Li's arms, and she felt at peace, even if it had only been for a second.  The reunion was nearly complete, and they still had one more person to free.  Rin took a step back, a smile on her face.

P'Li looked between Ming-Hua and Rin. "Did Junko send you?"

Ming-Hua laughed but shook her head. "We can talk about this later at the camp.  The Water Tribe Chiefs and Lord Zuko are here, so we can't stay long."

P'Li's face hardened. "Then let's go."

Rin watched as Ming-Hua started to climb up the ice with P'Li hanging from her shoulders, smiling at the small banter between the two, before launching herself through the hole before them.  Rin watched as Ghazan battled Lord Zuko and Zaheer continued his fight with Tonraq, noting P'Li and Ming-Hua exit from the prison.  She looked up into the sky when the shriek from Lord Zuko's dragon rang above them.

"Think you can handle that?" She asked P'Li as fire rained towards them.

She heard P'Li chuckle as she stepped forward, raising her hands to bend the fire safely away from them. "I've been waiting thirteen years to feel this warm!" She shouted before sending a combustion spark towards the dragon, knocking it out of the air.

Rin turned towards the last two fights, watching with glee as Ghazan knocked Lord Zuko to the ground.  Tonraq was the last one, and Rin's heart flew as P'Li knocked him to the ground with a combustion blast.  As the others ran towards the truck, Rin found her feet bringing her towards Tonraq.  He was unconscious on his side, but she could see the family resemblance he had to Korra.  Rin wanted nothing more than to leave Korra a message, to show her that they were coming for her, and here was the perfect delivery system.  All she had to do was-

"Rin!"

Zaheer's shout caught her attention, and she was able to dodge the incoming fireball Lord Zuko had sent towards her.  She glared at the old man, watching as the truck came towards her.  She sprinted towards it, grabbing onto Ming-Hua's tentacle and allowing it to pull her onto the truck.  As she looked back towards the prison, Rin allowed the fire in her chest, the hatred in her heart, to build at the lost chance, but she knew word would get back.  She knew Korra would find out her involvement.  She would have her fight.

_Four down.  One to go.  We're coming, Junko.  We're coming._

* * *

 

**_Thump.  Thwack.  Thump_ ** **_thump_ ** **_.  Thump._ **

The boys were missing.  We couldn't find any airbenders.  Korra was angry.

**_THUMP._ **

Real angry.

"She's lying to me, and I can see it in her damn smirk!" She shouted, dodging my swing only to bring a kick back towards the glove. "She was using me, and I let her!"

**_Thump_ ** **_thump_ ** **_.  TWACK._ **

My glove was knocked off my hand with a particularly hard kick.  I jumped back a bit to put some distance between Korra and I. "Hey, easy!  I know you're mad, but I'm not the target."

Korra held up her hands. "Sorry, sorry."

As I started to take off the other glove, two approaching figures caught my attention. "Mako!  Bolin!  Where have you two been?  And where's Kai?"

In original Bolin fashion, quick and breathless, a brief explanation was told to Korra and I.  We looked at each other confused before turning to Mako for a more detailed explanation.  Korra's hunch on the Earth Queen was right, only it was much darker than what we were anticipating.

Korra clenched her fists. "She was lying.  I knew it!"

Before Korra could finish her sentence, I put a hand on her shoulder, whispering softly. "She's coming.  Don't say anything just yet, ok?"

Korra nodded, but the tension remained.  We watched as the Queen walked towards us, Gun right on her heels with his head down.  I swallowed hard as she looked to the four of us, her eyes narrowing at the sight of Korra.

The Queen turned slightly to Gun. "Go on and tell them already."

Gun nodded, taking a step forward. "We've received word from the Yang province.  There have been reports of airbenders there."

The Queen lifted her chin just slightly. "Wonderful, isn't it?  It's the very thing you've been looking for."

So Korra had good acting skills, but the forced thanks didn't do them justice.  Even if they were enough to convince the Queen that we were "happy" about her news. "That's wonderful.  Yay."

The Queen looked from Korra to Bolin and Mako and then to me. "I assume you and your...friends will be leaving immediately."

Then it started.  All of the sneezing.  I couldn't help but stare dumbfounded as the Queen went into a sneezing fit because of Pabu.  I could see Bolin creep out of the vicinity to get his furry friend away the Queen, noting her threat against Gun.  I tried my best to hold in a laugh at the Queen's disheveled look once Pabu was far enough away from her.

She wiped her nose using Gun's sleeve before turning to Korra. "Let Gun know if you need assistance in packing before your departure this evening."

That caught all of our attentions. "This evening?" I asked.  When the Queen turned her glare in my direction, I had to sift through my brain for a reason to stay. "It's just...our airship is having some engine trouble."  _And because I know that ship inside and out, it won't be hard to make it sound too complicated for her understanding._ "It'll take me at least until tomorrow to finish the repairs."

I didn't miss the soft growl of frustration come from the Queen, but she agreed to let us stay before taking her leave.  Korra looked up at me with a smile. "Nice thinking, Sami.  Now we've got some time to find those airbenders."

I nodded, walking with Mako and Korra back to Tenzin. "We may have some time, but Ba Sing Se is huge.  The airbenders could be anywhere, and we still don't know where Kai is."

Mako raised an eyebrow at the mention of Kai. "You're still worried about him?"

"Look, I know you don't like him, but he's the only one who wanted to come with, Mako.  We need to do it at least for Tenzin and Jinora."

"Do what for us?" I heard Tenzin ask as the three of us walked into our temporary housing.  Jinora and Bumi were sitting with him at the table, looking over a map of the Earth Kingdom.

It was then that Mako began to tell us of what had happened in the past few days, from chasing after Kai to getting stuck in the Lower Ring to meeting their father's side of the family to learning about the Dai Li taking airbenders within the city.  Bolin made his way into the room a few minutes into Mako's explanation, adding his own input every once in a while, but allowing his brother to explain everything.  Tenzin's face only grew grimmer with each passing moment, his frustration reaching new highs when Mako explained the Dai Li kidnappings.  Korra had the same mindset as the rest of us.

"They shouldn't be forced into an army," she said as she gripped her seat.

Bumi sighed. "Well, technically, the Earth Queen has a right to conscript her citizens."

Jinora moved to the table, her fist held over her chest. "Guys, what if Kai was caught airbending?  He might have been taken too."

Korra leaned forward in her seat, placing her hand on Jinora's shoulder. "Don't worry.  We'll find Kai, and we'll save these airbenders.  I promise."

Mako rubbed his jaw before looking to the group. "My bet is that they're under Lake Laogai."

I looked to him. "What makes you think that?"

"I may have been reading some of Jinora's books to pass the time," he admitted before straightening his shoulders. "The old Dai Li agents used to have a secret fortress beneath the lake."

Jinora's eyes brightened at Mako's suggestion. "He's right!  It'd be the perfect place to hide airbenders, and I know how to check it out without getting caught.  I can project my spirit into the old fortress and see if they're there."

Bumi's and Tenzin's eyes both widened at the prospect. "You mean like when you helped Korra during Harmonic Convergence?" Bumi asked.

Jinora nodded. "It's not as powerful as it was during Harmonic Convergence, but if I can get close enough, I think I can do it."

Korra smiled, standing with her hand still on Jinora's shoulder. "Let's go find us some airbenders."

* * *

 

"It feels so good to finally be out of that spirit-forsaken cell," P'Li said as she snuggled against Zaheer. "To be with you all again."

Zaheer smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. "We're just a few steps closer to becoming hole once more."

Rin leaned back against the tree behind her, bringing her tea to her lips. "Yes, we will, but you four won't be coming with me."

The others sat up a bit straighter at Rin's words. "You want to run that by me again, kid?" Ming-Hua asked, her eyes narrowing.

Rin was unimpressed as she lowered her cup. "I said you're not coming with me.  We need to know where the Avatar is, and that requires intel." She turned her attention to Zaheer. "I need you to go to Republic City and infiltrate Air Temple Island.  From what little I heard traveling, Korra and a handful of her group left to find airbenders.  I need to know where they were planning on going to search."

Zaheer nodded. "Understood."

Ghazan raised an eyebrow. "So we're just going to let her go off on her own?  Just like that?"

"She's heading into Fire Nation territory, and she has her own gift of airbending.  She'll be fine."

Ming-Hua leaned forward. "Then answer me this:  why just you?"

Rin set her cup down beside her. "It's a family matter."

"We're her family too, ya know.  Maybe not blood-related, but we've done a lot together as a group."

"I know, I've heard the stories.  This is more...personal than what you four have with her."

Ming-Hua moved to say another word, but a quick shake of the head from P'Li silenced her.  She knew what Rin's real goal was in setting her sister free, but it was for Rin to do on her own.  Zaheer seemed to sense the same as he began to discuss their plan of infiltrating Air Temple Island, leaving Rin to her thoughts.

_Soon, Junko.  Soon._


	9. Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to rescue the airbenders!

To keep up the façade of our airship needing repairs, I spent the rest of the afternoon on the ship with Weisman.  I was able to go through messages that had been sent from Republic City, noting that increasing successes with the stocks.  I already knew that Darvy had no trouble running the company in my absense, but it was still reassuring to see the numbers matched with the expectations.  As I was getting ready to send a return message, Weisman knocked rapidly at my door.

"Come in."

He swung the door open fast. "Korra's back.  They know where the airbenders are."

I jumped to my feet, following him out of the airship and back to the housing.  Everyone was in the main room, with Korra pacing angrily in front of the group.

"Right underneath our noses.  She had them right underneath our noses!" Korra turned to a stop when she had noticed Weisman and I were in the room. "Alright, everyone's here."

Tenzin turned to us, his face matching the same frustration as Korra's. "The Earth Queen's new temple is a cover.  They have an underground training facility, and that's where they've been keeping the airbenders."

I looked to the group. "So, what's the plan?"

Bumi claps his hands together, a wide smile on his face. "We go in at the cover of darkness, two small insertion teams, and a third on the outside.  Then all we'll need is 12 tons of blasting jelly, a medium-sized bulldozer, and does anyone have one of those big earthbending animal things that knows morse code?"

Tenzin sighed, rubbing his temples at his brother's plan.  I could already feel the lecture coming when a knock at the door surprised us all.  I narrowed my eyes at the potential intruder. "Please don't tell me it's the Queen again."

"Everyone act normal.  And, Bolin-" Korra started to say, only to see Bolin letting Pabu hide in his shirt. "Right."

The three of us moved to the door, opening to find not the Queen but Lin Beifong instead.  I blinked a couple times as she walked in, an anger to her I hadn't seen in a while.

"What are you doing here?" Tenzin asked, closing the door behind her.

Lin walked to the middle of the group, looking around fast, before crossing her arms over her chest and turning to Korra. "We have to get you out of here now."

I took a step forward so that I was standing next to Korra. "What?  Why?  What's going on?"

Lin huffed, trying to keep her emotions in check. "I just got word from Lord Zuko and Tonraq that Zaheer and the others have escaped."

Bumi stood up at the name Zaheer, and even Tenzin's eyes widened. "How is that possible?  What about Junko?"

_Junko?  I've heard that name before, but from where?_

Lin shook her head. "From what we've heard, she's still locked away.  As for Zaheer and the others, they had some help." She turned to me, the steel in her eyes softening for a moment. "From Tonraq's description, Rin was with them."

My jaw dropped, and I could feel everyone else's surprise. "Rin?  I don't understand.  Why would she help criminals escape?"

"I don't know, but it's not the only troubling news.  Apparently, she and Zaheer are both airbenders now."

The color seemed to drain from Tenzin's face. "No..."

Lin nodded. "I'm afraid so.  Guards are on double-duty at Junko's cell, and we need to get Korra somewhere safe."

Korra held up her hands and pushed her way between Tenzin and Lin. "Alright, hold up, hold up.  What's going on?  Who's Zaheer?  Why is Rin helping him?  What's this all got to do with me?"

Tenzin looked to Lin before turning back to Korra. "Shortly after we found out you were the Avatar, Zaheer and four others attempted to kidnap you.  Luckily, your father, Lord Zuko, Chief Sokka, and I were there to stop them.  We apprehended all of them and locked them away in prisons designed to impair their abilities."

"That's why Korra grew up at the Compound?" Mako asked.

Tenzin nodded. "It was for her safety."

"But why were they trying to kidnap her in the first place?" Bolin piped up as Pabu climbed his shoulder.

Lin turned towards the others. "We spent 13 years interrogating them, but they never broke.  To this day, no one knows what their motive was."

Tenzin nodded before turning towards Korra and I. "As for Rin, I have no idea why she's involved."

I clenched my fists, thinking back to when we were kids. "That's the thing.  She shouldn't have been involved.  If what you're saying is true, then she was still a child!  There's no way she should've been involved with something like this."

I could see Korra tense at the mention of Rin.  I knew it was hurting her, but I couldn't wrap my head around the revelation.   _She moved to Republic City when she was three.  She never left the city until her parents forced her to right before high school.  None of this makes sense._

"Whatever the reasoning, it doesn't matter right now.  What matters is getting Korra back to Republic City where we can better protect her," Lin said, interrupting my thoughts.

Korra narrowed her eyes at Lin. "No.  I'm not running."

Lin sighed, taking a step closer to Korra. "You don't understand, Korra.  These criminals are like nothing you've faced before."

"And I'm not a kid anymore, Lin.  I don't need anyone to protect me.  I came here to Ba Sing Se to find airbenders, and right now, they need me more.  I'm not leaving without them, whether you like it or not."

Lin narrowed her eyes then sighed. "Fine.  Let's get them, and get out of here.  Where the hell are they?"

"The Queen has some temple being built behind the palace.  The airbenders are underneath it," I answered.

Korra nodded, cracking her knuckles. "And we're busting them out."

* * *

 

The plan was simple.  Weisman would be on standby with the airship ready.  Knock out the guards patrolling the door to the temple.  Get in and get the airbenders.  Get out.  It was so simple, yet not as easy.  Dai Li were everywhere, and we were going to have to split up to find the airbenders.  I was going to go with the boys and Jinora to find Kai, while Korra, Bumi, and Tenzin would split off to find the rest of the airbenders.

From Jinora's description, they had locked Kai away separately from the other airbenders.  As we were nearing his cell, messages started to pass through the radio.  The others had found the airbenders and were on their way topside.   _Good.  We've almost got everyone out._

"He's in there," Jinora whispered, pointing to one of the steel doors.

I nodded, walking forward and pulling open the door.  Kai shrunk away from the sudden light, shielding his eyes but smiling when he saw who stood in the door. "Come on, Kai.  We're breaking you out of here."

"Asami!" Kai stood up, only to be knocked into by Jinora.

I chuckled when she kissed Kai on the cheek. "You know, your father won't be happy to hear about this," I told her, stepping out of the way.

Jinora smiled shyly as she and Kai left the cell.  Kai looked to us with a sad smile. "Thanks for coming to get me.  I'm sorry I caused so much trouble for you guys."

Before Mako could go into his lecture, I sent him a glare before putting my hand on Kai's shoulder. "Let's just get out of here, and you can make it up to everyone later, alright?"

Kai nodded, following us back down the hall.  We weren't out of trouble yet as we rounded the corner to the exit only to run into Dai Li agents.  By the way Kai's face quickly turned into a glare, I could only imagine what thse men had put him and the other airbenders through during their time here.

"Deserting His Majesty's army is treason, punishable by death!"

Mako and Bolin rushed the three, a fight ensuing in the tight corridor.  The two were able to knock two of the agents out, but the third gained an upper hand when he was able to grab Jinora.  I looked to Kai, who nodded.  Rushing past Bolin and Mako, I threw a kick towards his head, only to be slammed into the wall to my left.  As I grunted in pain, I couldn't help but smile as Kai used the distraction to launch a blast of air towards the agent.  Jinora was able to free herself, and the last obstacle in our way was out cold.

Bolin rushed over to me, helping me to my feet. "Are you alright?"

I nodded, holding my side. "Let's just get out of here."

The Dai Li were relentless as they chased us out of their fortress.  Bolin was screaming for help as they fired continuous boulders near us.  I flinched as Mako jerked us around down the stairs, but we couldn't stop.  I sucked in a breath and started to sprint away when Oogi's cry caught my attention.  Tenzin and Korra were coming back for us, and Bolin saw it.

"Hold on!" Was the only warning we got before Bolin launched us into the sky.

I cried out at the sudden force and reached for my ribs.  I missed my chance to grab onto Oogi, and the next thing I knew I was falling.  The others looked at me with fear in their eyes as my hand reached out to them.

_T_ _h_ _i_ _s_ _w_ _a_ _s_ _i_ _t_ _._ _T_ _h_ _i_ _s_ _w_ _a_ _s_ _the end._

"Oh no you don't!"

Korra's hand grabbed my arm, and I found myself hanging just by Oogi's feet.  I looked up to see her smiling down at me, Bolin and Mako holding onto her legs to keep her from falling.  Both of them had smiles on their faces when they saw my confused expression.

"Maybe you should let us know the next time you want to hang around, Sami," Korra said, her smile being replaced with a smirk.

"Seriously!  You decided that right now was the best time to make a pun?!"

"Hey!  Take the chances when you can!"

I looked at her incredulously before bursting out into laughter.  Korra always knew when to make me laugh.

* * *

 

I rubbed my ribs as I watched Korra bid goodbye to Tenzin, Bumi, Jinora, and Kai.  They were leaving with the airbenders to go to the Northern Air Temple.  The rest of us were going to be heading off to Zaofu, where Opal was.  Lin was still grudgingly coming with us, insistent that she be along to protect Korra.  I was the first person Korra met with when she returned to the airship, but her cheerful smile was quickly replaced with a stoic expression.

"Did you know?" She asked, looking at me as the airship lifted off.

I looked at her confused. "Did I know what?"

"About Rin."

 _Ah.  I see we're jumping right to the point then._ "No.  I didn't."

"You knew her before any of us did, Asami."

"They were locked up 13 years ago, Korra.  You were 6, and Rin and I were 7.  I knew she wasn't from originally from Republic City, but she grew up there.  The only time I remember her ever leaving the city was when her parents moved her right before freshmen year 5 years ago."

Korra looked at me with narrow eyes, like she was studying me, before she nodded. "Ok."

"Ok?  That's all you have to say?"

"Yes."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "So I basically get interrogated because my ex-friend is now a wanted criminal, and I'm just supposed to let that go, is that right?"

I could see Korra chew the inside of her lip. "It wasn't an interrogation, Asami.  You were friends with her for years, and now, according to Lin, she's working with a group of people that had tried to kidnap me as a child.  They're the reason why I group up in the Compound!"

"It's not my fault for the attempted kidnapping, Korra!  Just because I was friends with her doesn't mean I know anything about what the hell she's doing now!"

"And how am I supposed to know that you're not protecting her, huh?!  How do I know you haven't been lying to us the entire time and that you haven't been telling her where we've been the past couple weeks?!"

And there it was.  The arrow to the heart.  I took a step back, the pain in my chest growing.  I could see the immediate regret in Korra's face, her hand starting to reach out only to be pulled back to her side.  She bit her lower lip, looking towards the ground.

"I...Asami, I'm sorry.  I didn't mean-" she began to say, but I shook my head.

"No.  You meant it, Korra, or you wouldn't have been thinking it in the first place." I looked away from her. "I don't blame you for not trusting me.  I mean, I'm the reason why we're like this right now.  Fighting all over again." I sighed, looking up towards her. "I'm trying, Korra.  I really am."

"Asami, I-"

"No.  Don't put the blame on yourself again.  Please.  I know I have to make it up to you, and I will.  Just know this.  I have no idea how Rin is involved with this Zaheer and his friends, but I'm here for you." I turned to leave but stopped at the door. "I'll see you tomorrow.  Goodnight."

I could almost hear her whisper goodnight as I left, trying my hardest to not to let the tears fall.  I didn't sleep well that night, waking up every few hours from nightmares.  Eventually, I chose to just stay awake, opting to look over all of the reports that Darvy had sent me.  As I rummaged through some of the more recent ones, I noticed a note had been sent along as well.

 _Asami,_    
 _If you're reading this, then that means you're doing one of your all-nighters again.  Please get some sleep.  I've walked in on you too many times, and all it's going to do is hurt your back in the morning.  Future Industries will be here when you return, and you've got your friends to look out for as well._    
 _-_ _Darvy_    
 _P.S.  I made sure to have Weisman stock your favorite tea in the cupboard of the kitchen.  The one that helps you sleep._

I chuckled, silently sending thanks to Darvy as I stood to head to the kitchen.  He had been more of a father-figure for me in recent months, and I was grateful for his consideration.  It reminded me of the times when I was younger, and both of my parents had done the same.  It still stung, knowing that my father had been responsible for so much hate, but knowing that I had so much more love around me seemed to ease the pain.

With a cup of tea in my hand, I made my way back to my room.  It was going to be a long day, and I needed all the sleep I could get.

* * *

 

_Boiling Rock.  How fitting that she be sent here._

Rin looked towards the prison, noting the gondolas were stationed at the top of the volcano.  Since the end of the Hundred Year War, only the most dangerous criminals in the world were held here.  White Lotus members added to the guards stationed at the prison, allowing for a more diverse defense to the once inescapable fortress.  Everyone knew the story of how Lord Zuko and Chief Sokka had once escaped with their friends, but none had been as successful as they had been.  Not until today.

Slowly but surely, Rin began to airbend the steam emitting from the water of the volcano, watching as the steam became too thick to see through.  Once she was sure her cover would hold, she launched herself towards the prison at a breakneck pace, landing with a soft cushion of air.  She could hear the guards above her talking about the excess amount of steam, happy that the cover was working.

Scaling up the side of the prison, Rin was careful to move between the two outposts on the wall.  It had been slightly difficult getting an accurate schematic of the prison, but it only took a couple days for her to memorize the layout.  Junko was being held in one of the deeper parts of the prison, close to where the coolers were so as to provide the guards with a quick way to cool her firebending abilities.  The hallways were narrow, providing very little room for Rin to navigate while also staying out of the blind spots of the guards, but she managed to make her way to the lower levels of the prison.

It took a few wrong doors, but she finally found the one.  One trick that Rin had managed to figure out on her way to Boiling Rock was picking locks with her airbending, and it was such a useful little ability.  Making sure that there wasn't go to be a guard nearby to interrupt their reunion, she made quick work of the lock and made her way into the cell.  The sight before her spiked her anger to a new high.

The cell Junko was held in was larger than the rest.  Half of it was in a cooler, and there was her sister, chained to the wall just as P'Li was in her cell back at the North Pole.  Rin walked over to the clear glass, placing her hand on the wall that separated her from her sister.  Finally, after 13 years of waiting, she was going to see her family once more.

"Ane, I'm here," Rin whispered, kneeling so that her sister could see her.

Junko raised her head slightly, narrowing her eyes at the newcomer. "Who...who's there?"

Rin curled her fingers in slightly. "It's me, Junko.  It's Rin."

Junko blinked her eyes a couple times then shook her head. "No.  No, you're not Rin.  You can't be Rin."

"But I am."

Junko looked to Rin. "Prove it."

Rin smiled, pulling out the locket that she kept around her neck. "You had one of these too.  Mother had five of the same portrait made, and each of us had one.  To show that wherever we were, we'd had family with us."

Junko stared at the locket before a lone tear rolled down her cheek. "They destroyed mine.  All those years ago.  They destroyed it in the fight." She dropped her head. "I failed them.  They must be so disappointed in me."

Rin swallowed hard.  There was a time to tell Junko about everything, but now was not it.  Looking behind her then back to the cell, she quickly unlocked it and made her way over to her sister.  Undoing her chains, Rin brought Junko's arm over her shoulders and walked her into the warmth.  She brought her sister over to a corner, away from the window of the door and set her down.

"Junko, we have to leave.  Zaheer and the others are waiting for us," Rin told Junko, her eyes shifting from her sister to the door.

Junko lifted her head. "Zaheer...and the others?  They're all out?"

"Yes, and they're waiting for us."

It was then that Junko seemed to look at Rin for the first time. "Was...was this all you?"

Rin turned to her sister, nodding once. "I'll explain everything later.  Right now, we have to leave."

Junko stared at her little sister, the once naive look in her eyes now replaced with a hardened anger.  It reminded her too much of their parents. "You best keep your promise, Imouto."

In its history, Boiling Rock had only two record successful escape attempts.  The first saw a group of heroes leave its walls as the first successful escape, while the second saw two criminals escape under tighter security.  Later that night, as her sister slept in what Rin could only assume had been her first peaceful sleep in many years, she looked up at the sky above her.  There was a hope building in her chest, and just the thought of years of planning coming together in the next few days only added to the happiness that she felt.

The world would see the end of the Avatar, and they would rejoice.


	10. Zaofu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Krew have made it to Zaofu, reuniting with Opal, Kuvira, and Baatar Jr.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> So it's been a couple weeks since the last update. The holidays were chaotic, and I wasn't near my computer for a good portion of those two weeks. School has also started back up, but I've already got the next two chapters planned out. Updates will resume on Monday's once again. Thanks for sticking with this work!
> 
> Make sure to follow me on Tumblr!

"OPAL!"

 Mako, Korra, Bolin, and I were beyond excited to see that Opal was with the welcoming party, along with Kuvira and Bataar Jr.  Bolin was bouncing in place as the ramp lowered to the ground, and no sooner did the click of metal sound did Bolin rush off towards his girlfriend.  Opal laughed as Bolin picked her up and began to spin her around.  Kuvira shook her head before walking over the rest of us, holding her hand out to Korra.

"Good to see you, Korra," Kuvira said with a smile as Bataar Jr. stood to her side.

Korra returned her smile. "Good to see you as well.  How have you two been?"

"Kuvira's been climbing the ranks in Mother's personal guard, while I've been helping out Father with his inventions," Bataar Jr. answered.

Mako looked past Bolin and Opal to the remaining members of Kuvira's group. "I don't see your mother with you guys.  Are we going to see them soon?"

Kuvira nodded, motioning for one of the men to move forward.  He was bald with a white beard and glasses, wearing a robe with what I assumed to be Zaofu's colors.  Interesting enough, he wore no footwear.  He bowed slightly to the group, to which Korra returned.

"This is Aiwei, one of Su's top advisors," Kuvira said, but it wasn't lost to me the glint of annoyance in her eyes.  There was a story to be told, one that I probably wouldn't hear about until later.

"It's an honor to meet you, Avatar Korra." Aiwei looked to our group, noting Opal and Bolin moving to join us. "Is this all of you?"

Korra nodded. "Yup.  Any chance we can meet with Su?"

Aiwei nodded, motioning towards the door behind him. "Of course.  If you would just follow me."

We followed Kuvira's group onto the elevator, when a hand on my shoulder caught my attention.  I turned to see Opal behind me, a small smile on her lips.  When the elevator stopped, we waited for the others to take a lead in front of us. 

"How are you doing?" Opal asked softly, watching to make sure the others were busy paying attention to Aiwei's explanation of the history of the city.

I tried to give her the best smile I could but even I could see it was unconvincing to her. "I'm...in truth I'm doing horribly.  I thought we were starting to gain some ground back, but...we've learned some things in the past couple days that have kind of set us back."

"Like what kind of things?"

I bit my lip, watching the others before turning my head back to Opal. "There's a dangerous group of criminals that have escaped recently.  Apparently, this group tried to kidnap Korra when she was younger; it's the reason why they kept her in the Compound for most of her life."

Opal's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

I nodded, my hands clenching. "What's making matters worse is that apparently Rin is with them."

Opal stopped, grabbing my arm to stop me as well. "Rin?  Are you sure?"

"Yes.  All this is coming from Lin."

"Aunt Lin?  Is she here with you?"

"Yeah, but she wanted to stay back on the ship."

Opal sighed, pinching her nose. "Long story short, family drama."

I chuckled. "I distinctively remember this coming up at one of our sleepovers, but we can talk about that later if it comes up."

"Agreed." Opal and I began to start walking, the others a great deal in front of us. "Do you think it's true?"

"Do I think what's true?"

Opal looked at me, concern heavy in her eyes. "About Rin."

I sighed, looking towards the ground. "I don't know, Opal.  I really don't know."

A train ride later, we were at Opal's home.  We had been able to see some of the life within Zaofu, and it put the Upper Ring to shame.  I remember Opal saying how much more freedom Su allowed her citizens, how a lot of their successes within the city limits due in part to that freedom to be individuals.  When we passed the statue of Toph Beifong, Opal's grandmother and the very first metalbender, Bolin was practically drooling.

When we arrived at Opal's home, the size was at least three times that of my mansion.  The architecture was magnificent, but that was to be expected from someone like Su.  Opal giggled as she watched Korra and Bolin share similar looks of awe before waving towards a building off to our right.

"Come on.  Mom's at practice right now.  We should be catching her as she's finishing up," she said before taking the lead with Kuvira towards the building.

Su was always pushing for her children to have a large creative side, evident in her active participation in the arts herself.  True to Opal's assumption, the dance group Su was in charge of was finishing up their routine for the day.  When she saw us enter, Su was quick to dismiss the group before jogging over to us.  She placed a hand on Opal's and Kuvira's shoulders before turning to us.

"Welcome everyone.  I'm glad you all got here safely," she told us, hugging the boys and Korra first before turning to me. "It's good to see you again, Asami.  You've grown into such a beautiful young woman.  Your mother would've been so proud of you."

I laughed. "I haven't changed that much since graduation, Su."

She booped me on the nose, a smile growing on her face. "That does not mean what I've said isn't true, Asami." Her expression grew grim as Aiwei leaned in to whisper in her ear, turning to face our entire group when he finished. "Now would either of you four like to explain why Lin remained on the airship?"

Korra blinked in surprise. "How...how did you know?"

"I am a truth seer.  When people lie, their heart rate and breathing increase.  I can tell the most subtle of changes," Aiwei explained.

Opal rolled her eyes before turning to us. "It's a technique that Grandma perfected due to her blindness.  Thanks to Aiwei, there's no secrets in Zaofu, which is as annoying as it sounds."

"Opal!" Su scolded her daughter with a scowl before turning back to us. "Why didn't Lin accompany you inside?"

"She didn't want you to know she was here," I answered.

Su smiled. "Well, why don't we all go back to your airship so that I can have a quick talk with my sister."

* * *

 

Rin could feel Junko's eyes on her. "I wish you'd quit staring at me while I do this."

"Then why are you doing it in the first place?"

"I won't stand out.  Unlike you, people in Republic City have seen my face; they know what I look like.  That's why we grabbed the colored contacts." The sounds of the scissors were the only thing keeping the room from being silent. "It's why we cut your hair earlier.  News won't have traveled to Republic City just yet, but there's a good chance it will have by the time we're ready to depart."

Rin set the scissors down on the sink, looking up at the mirror.  She had cut her long hair down but managed to style her bangs to hang over part of her face.  It would allow her to move through the city easier, and with the contacts, she became almost a new person.  Almost.  She turned to face her sister, who was leaning against the doorframe.

Junko smile, her hair cut down to a style that reminded Rin of Mako's. "Could've fooled me.  So what's next?"

Rin left the bathroom, grabbing her jacket off of the bed. "Now, we meet up with the others in Republic City.  Zaheer should have infiltrated Air Temple Island by now to find out where Tenzin is.  We find Tenzin, then we find Korra."

"How are you so sure that she'll be with him?" Junko asked, raising an eyebrow.

Rin pulled the jacket on before pulling on a black beanie. "Even if she's not with him, he'll be the quickest way to get to her.  He cares too much for her not to know where she's at."

Junko pulled her own jacket as she followed Rin out of the hotel room and to the nearby Satomobile. "You're very confident about that."

Rin opened the driver's door, starting the Satomobile as Junko climbed in on the passenger's side. "That's what happens when you spend a few weeks around them.  It was a pain, acting so nice to them, but Unalaq's stupid plan wasn't helping matters."

Junko leaned back in her seat, watching out the window as her sister began the drive to Republic City. "So he actually went through with it?"

"Yes."

"Did he realize who you were?"

"If he did, he showed no indication."

Junko frowned. "Mother and Father would've put him in his place in a heartbeat."  She didn't miss how Rin's knuckles whitened as she tightened her grip on the steering wheel. "How did they die?"

"Fire Lord Izumi.  After your incarceration, they were forced to take more precautions in everything they did.  Even moved me out of Republic City before my freshmen year at Republic High because they thought someone had tipped off the police.  Turned out no one had, but it didn't ease their worries.  I think the stress finally got to them when they tried to kidnap the Fire Princess.  I was out on a trip with friends and returned to find the police at our home."

"They put up a fight?"

Rin nodded. "Forced the police to kill them.  When they learned of my existence, they debated on sending me to the system, but I was too old for it.  Finished high school and took on some small jobs.  Kept in contact with the Red Lotus contacts that were still free but in hiding.  Started making my own plans.  When I heard through the vine what Unalaq was preparing, I knew I had to get in close to see if the rumors were true.  I managed to get myself in a position with a startup shipping company, and unknowingly put myself in the middle of the conflict."

"Harmonic Convergence."

"Yes.  I found myself reunited with Asami and helped them to foil Unalaq's plans, earning myself some cracked ribs along the way.  I hadn't even healed all the way before I was forced to leave."

Junko leaned her cheek against her fist. "Why leave?  From the sounds of it, you were in a prime position to take out the Avatar."

Rin chuckled. "Kind of hard when the girl you've fallen for is the Avatar's girlfriend and you think it'd be a good idea to try and save the girl from the Avatar's influences."

"You never do things half-ass, do you?"

"Apparently not."

"So what happens when we capture the Avatar?"

Rin smiled. "We end the cycle, and then we kill her."

Junko smiled back, leaning her seat back. "Good plan."

* * *

 

Pulling teeth would probably be a better experience than trying to get Lin to talk to Su.  I knew it had been a long time since either had seen each other, but to hear that thirty years had passed was alarming.  As I stood back with the boys and Opal, I could see the family resemblance between the two sisters as they bickered back and forth.  Opal sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's like watching Wing and Wei argue over their stupid game," she grumbled softly.

At the mention of her brothers, Opal's mood perked up, and she insisted that we follow her to say hello.  We found them at their small arena playing Power Disk, an invention of their own to pass the boredom.  Korra called out in greeting to the two boys, throwing Wing's concentration off long enough for Wei to get a clean shot in.  I laughed with Opal as Korra shouted her apologies.  It wasn't long until we found Opal's other brother, Huan, metalbending steel into some interesting sculptures.  He held the same indifference as when we last saw him, showing little interest in his family's guests.

"Where's Baatar Sr.?" Korra asked, looking around the courtyard.

"Father is in his office working on some new invention.  It was surprising of him to let me go for a moment to come greet you with Kuvira and Opal," Baatar Jr. Answered.

Su smiled at her eldest before turning back to us. "Now I've already set up the guest rooms for everyone, and they're yours the entirety of your trip.  Korra, you're welcome to start your training with Opal as soon as you feel ready."

Korra bit her lower lip, her hand rubbing the back of her neck. "Actually, I was hoping that she could leave with us sot that she could go train with the other new airbenders at the Northern Air Temple with Tenzin."

Opal's eyes widened at the prospect, but Su was quick to dismiss the notion. "Nonsense.  Opal has been doing some studies here at Zaofu, and we have plenty of space for the two of you to train here."

"Well, I guess we could stay a bit and get the basics down," Korra suggested.

Lin was having none of it. "No.  We're leaving, with or without Opal."

Su turned to her sister, eyes narrowing. "Lin, what is your deal?  I'm not allowing you to leave so soon, especially if my daughter is involved."

"There was a recent escape, and there are several criminals we think are coming after Korra," I answered.

"Well, if you're concerned about security, then there's no need to.  Zaofu is the safest city in the world," Su put her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Trust me, there's no need to worry.  I'll see you all at dinner."

Lin narrowed her eyes at Su as she walked away.  Korra moved closer to Lin. "Let's stay for a bit, Lin.  There can't be any trouble in staying a day or two, and then we'll be on our way to the Northern Air Temple."

Lin only huffed in response.  It wasn't a no, and I think it was the best answer we were going to get out of her.  As we had a couple hours until dinner, I followed Korra and Opal out to one of the gardens.  Even as Opal nonchantingly said that there were similar gardens around Zaofu, the beauty of it wasn't phased out by her words.  I took a seat on one of the nearby benches, pulling out a notebook I had brought along as Korra began to run through some training exercises with Opal.  I watched with a smile as they walked around in a circle, the air around them responding to their bending and creating an easy breeze.

When they were done running some of the basic drills that I remembered Tenzin teaching Korra, Opal gave a bow to Korra. "Thank you for humoring my mom, Korra.  She can seem a bit overbearing at times."

Korra chuckled, walking over to place a hand on Opal's shoulder. "It's no big deal, Opal.  Let's just focus on convincing her to let you go to the Northern Air Temple so that you can get proper training by Tenzin."

Opal nodded before they began to make their way over to me.  Noticing the notebook in my hand, Opal tilted her head to the side slightly. "What's that, Asami?"

"Just some notes about Future Industries.  Darvy's been in charge while I've been away, so I'll probably check in with him tomorrow morning."

Opal nodded before taking a seat next to me.  I didn't fail to notice Korra lean against a pillar across from us, arms over her chest.  Silence enveloped the three of us, but all of us knew the topic resting on our minds.  Opal was the first to speak up.

"Are you worried about the escaped criminals coming after you, Korra?" She asked softly, biting her lower lip as she looked towards Korra.

I could see Korra's fingers clench around her biceps, the small amount of anger radiating off of her. "Why should I be?  They're the reason why I was cut off from the real world.  You can only enjoy the Compound so much before you need an escape."

"Then why do I have a feeling you're holding something back?"

I sighed. "Because of Rin."

Opal turned to look at me. "Even if it's true, why would she be doing something like this?"

"Don't know why, but it doesn't matter.  She's involved," Korra answered with a bite in her voice.

"It's...complicated," I added.

Korra huffed. "Understatement of the year."

Opal looked between the two of us. "Ok, what is going on between you two?"

"Nothing's wrong.  Asami just won't accept that Rin is working for the other side," Korra snapped, her teeth grinding against each other.

I narrowed my eyes at her, standing up. "I fully get your feelings on it, Korra, but even if they are true, I still want to know why she's doing it in the first place."

Korra took a step forward. "Asami, she played us!  Why can't you get that through your head?  Are you that in love with her to see that?!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Korra's expression went from anger to regret.  It was too late, the damage already done.  I knew she still resented everything that had happened, but to hear how angry Korra still was still seemed to hit harder.  I stood, ignoring Opal's pleads, and left the garden.  I couldn't look at them; I couldn't look at Korra.  I had to get out of there.

I made my mistakes, and life was sure to remind me every chance it got that I was going to have to live with the consequences.


	11. Tension

They arrived into Republic City in the dead of night.  Rin drummed her fingers against her arm as she waited outside Republic City Park.  Junko was still in the Satomobile, parked a couple blocks away from Rin but still in her line of sight.  Rin could feel her irritation slowly building as she looked down the street.  This was where they had agreed to meet, and they knew she was rarely late.  Every passing moment out in the open meant another ticked closer to someone recognizing her.

"What's a pretty girl like you out here by your lonesome at this time of night?" A familiar voice asked in a hush behind Rin.

She rolled her eyes, turning to see Ghazan and Ming-Hua standing behind her with bright smiles. "Took you two long enough to get here."

Ghazan shrugged.  Ming-Hua narrowed her eyes at him before turning her attention back to Rin. "Junko?"

"In a car nearby.  Let's get going."

Rin checked the street once more before leading the way over to the Satomobile.  Ghazan and Ming-Hua were quick to jump into the back, both offering warm smiles to Junko as Rin started the car.  Ghazan pointed out the twists and turns, but it wasn't long until he has Rin pull up the car to what looks to be an abandoned building.

"Spirit vines nearby have the entire block deserted.  Makes a great hiding spot for us," Ghazan said with a smile, getting out first with Ming Hua right behind him.

Rin exited the Satomobile, looking around at the empty streets.  No lights, no movement, and only silence around them.  It brought her an odd comfort as she and Junko followed their teammates into the building they had parked in front of.  As soon as they were inside the building, Rin brushed her hair out of her face and watched her sister take her glasses off.  There was no need for them to continue with the disguises here, relieving some of the stress on Rin's shoulders.

P'Li was waiting in a nearby room, sitting on the windowsill with her left knee pulled up to her chest.  The moment she saw Junko walk in, her face lit up in a smile.  Rin watched P'Li rush over to Junko, pulling her into a tight hug.  Out of everyone, P'Li and Junko had known each other the longest, practically inseperable at times.

P'Li held Junko at arms-length, looking her up and down. "Prison suited you better than the rest of us it looks like."

Junko rolled her eyes, gently punching P'Li in her arm. "Look who's talking, but I'm glad to see all of you are ok." She looked around the room. "I assume that Zaheer is still out?"

P'Li nodded, looking over Junko's shoulder to Rin. "I see you weren't the only one to have a new look."

Rin tucked her hair behind her ear. "It needed to be done.  Too many people in the city know my face.  Too much of a risk not to come back with a different look."

P'Li nodded, a smile wide on her face as she looked back to Junko. "It's good to have you back, my friend."

Junko smiled. "Good to be back."

"It won't be for long."

All of them turned to find Zaheer, out of breath.  P'Li rushed over to her lover, but Zaheer looked past her to Rin.  Her eyes were narrowed at him, anger building in her chest.  He wasn't supposed to be here; he was supposed to be with the rest of the airbenders getting them information on Korra and the others.  He was supposed to be anywhere but at their hideout.

Rin took a step forward. "Why?"

Zaheer held her stare. "I was found out.  Aang's daughter, Kya, was at there, and she was able to see past my deception."

Rin closed her hands into fists, turning towards the open window.  She made her way towards it, listening to the alarms of the Republic City police force.  It wasn't supposed to go like this, but they had no choice but to move forward with Plan B.  It wasn't like Zaheer was her only mole; there were others.  She would find Korra, and when she did, the Avatar Cycle would finally come to an end.

* * *

 

Having dinner with friends lately hasn't been one of the more enjoyable parts of my life.  Su was insistent that her chef cook us dinner for her tonight, knowing that we wouldn't turn down her invitation.  All but Baatar Jr. and his father joined us with Korra sitting at the head of the table with Su and Lin.  I sat on left side of the table with Mako to my right and Kuvira across from me.  She sat with Su's boys, and I could help but smile as Bolin sat next to Opal on our side.  It had become near impossible to drag him from her side since our arrival.

Su's chef arrived with several helpers, and we watched with smiles on our faces as the dishes were placed in front of us.  They were extravagant, matching the mood that seemed to pulse to life throughout Zaofu.  Once the last of the dishes made its way out to us, the chef thanks his helpers as they made their way out of the room before turning to us.

"Tonight, for your dining pleasure, I present a seared wild kyoshi elephant koi, paired with a ginger-infused pea tendril and hibiscus root salad," he explained, pointing to our dishes before bowing before Su.

Su smiled and nodded her thanks to her chef. "Stunning.  Thank you." He returned her nod with his own before taking his leave.  Su turned her attention to us, her smile never wavering. "Go on and eat up, everyone."

"Where is your husband and Baatar Jr.?" Korra asked before taking a bite of her koi.

Su sighs with a small chuckle. "Baatar was able to figure out a breakthrough on the tram system, and who am I to interrupt someone's spark of inspiration?"

Kuvira smiled. "As an architect, he helped Su design the entire city of Zaofu."

Lin huffed at the mention of her brother-in-law. "Five kids and a busy husband?  Talk about a nightmare."

Su narrowed her eyes at her sister before turning towards her own meal. "My children and my marriage are blessings, Lin."

Lin crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, Mom used to say that too, but we both know she didn't mean it."

I looked across the room to Kuvira, who only sighed and tried to give me her best reassuring smile.  I had heard the horror stories of Lin's and Su's bickering, but it looked like I was going to see them first-hand.  Thankfully, Bolin's interruption in regards to how the food tasted seemed to bring everyone back into a cheerful mood.  As the conversation began to float towards the new Air Nation, though, tensions started to rise between Lin and Su once more.  Not ready for another argument, I was ready to excuse myself when a familiar voice broke the tension.

"Asami?"

I turned my head to see my old friend Zhu Li and her incompetent partner Varrick standing in the doorway.  They wore robes that matched those of the Zaofu citizens, and Varrick wore a large smile at the sight of the group sitting with Lin.

"Zhu Li?" Korra asked, standing up at the sight of our friend. "What are you doing here?"

Varrick moved to speak, but the glare I sent his direction forced him into hiding behind Zhu Li.  She sighed at his cowardice before turning back towards Korra. "I called Su and Opal to see if we could stay in Zaofu for a while.  Varrick and Baatar Sr. have been working together on a few projects to repay the favor."

Su waved off Zhu Li's explanation. "It's of no concern, Zhu Li.  You were always welcomed to come here, and any friend of yours and Opal's is a friend of mine.  Now sit with us; I'll have a couple extra plates brought in for you."

Varrick held up his hand. "No need, Suyin!  Zhu Li and I just came to say hello to our guests before we return to our projects.  The future is magnets, and we're on the verge of a major breakthrough!"

I narrowed my eyes, moving to say something about Varrick's new ideas, when the sound of fists slamming on the table caught everyone's attention.  I turned to see Lin standing up, her anger practically steaming out of her ears as she turned to her sister.

"Really?  Out of all the convoluted things you've done, now you're harboring a criminal?!"

Su narrowed her eyes at Lin. "I think you need to calm down, Lin.  Sure, Varrick has made some mistakes in the past, but that doesn't mean he should pay for them for the rest of his life.  Everyone deserves a second chance at life; they change."

Lin slammed her fist down on the table, causing everyone to jump. "That's the problem!  You haven't changed at all!" She yelled before storming out of the dining room.

I could hear Opal's soft sigh, and Su seemed to mimic her reaction.  We knew that Lin had problems with her family, but this was the most we've ever seen her act up.  Even when Opal went to Republic High, Lin was always in-check with her emotions.  I looked to Korra, the determination in her eyes already spelling out her next moves.  She quickly excused herself from the table to find Lin, and Su was quick to dismiss us all from dinner.

I waited outside the dining hall until Opal walked out with Bolin, quick to grab her arm and drag her away before either of them could object.  I walked her out to the garden where she and Korra had practiced airbending not too long ago, turning my gaze to her.  She looked at me before turning her eyes towards the ground, rubbing her arms as she tried to figure out what to say next.

"Opal, what's going on?  I know family drama, believe me, but Lin's attitude makes it seem like there's a bigger story than what you've told me."

Opal buckles under my stare, sitting on the nearby bench. "None of us know what a normal childhood is, and my mother's and aunt's is no exception.  Neither know their fathers, and Grandma Toph was too busy Republic City's police chief.  According to Mom, Grandma wanted them to have a different childhood than what she had, so that's what they were given.  Two separate personalities, two separate paths." She looked up at me, the look of exhaustion seemingly stretching out across her face. "Mom left when she was a teenager, doing all these adventurous things, before she met Dad and finally settled down.  She and Grandma made up, but that hasn't been the case with Aunt Lin."

I watched her get up and walk past me, using her airbending to blast a gust of air out into the open space as if to rid her mind of the frustration. "I just...wish they'd fix everything.  That they could just talk this out and become whole again.  I know Mom wants to, but Aunt Lin is always so...just so stubborn!"

"That is the biggest understatement I've ever heard come out of your mouth, Opal."

Opal and I both turned to find Korra standing at the entrance to the building with a wide smile on her face. "Mind if I steal you for a moment, Op?  I want to try something."

Opal looked at me with a questioning looking.  I shrugged. "Don't ask me."

Opal rolled her eyes with a smile before turning back to Korra. "Sure, why not."

I watched the two walk off, choosing to sit at the bench that Opal had been sitting on not even an hour before.  As silence enveloped the air around me, I found myself thinking back to what Opal had said about her mother and her aunt.  My right hand began to rub up and down my left arm slowly as I looked to the sky.  It made me wonder about my own family matters; would I ever be able to forgive my father for what he had done?  I looked down at my hands.   _Would_ _Korra_ _be able to forgive me for what I've done?_

Just thinking about Korra, about her smile, about her laughter, sent chills down my back.  All that love and trust she has for her friends and family, and I ruined part of it.  Yet, here I was trying to figure out how to win her back without even realizing whether I deserved to have her?  My grip tightened on my arm.   _Why was I so stupid?  How could I let this get to this point?_ I took a deep breath in, standing up with a renewed strength.

I'd spent too much time trying to win Korra back that I wasn't proving to her that I deserved her.  That was going to change.  No matter how long it was going to take, I was going to show Korra that I was going to be there for her and that she could trust me once more.  I thought I would be hesitant as I pulled out my phone, dialing a Republic City number, but as the dial tone rang through the speaker, I could only feel my confidence growing.

"Asami?  What are you doing up this late?" Darvy's sleepy voice asked.

"I'm sorry I called so late, but I need a favor."

"Outside of running the company in your absence?"

"I promise you're being compensated well for it, Darvy, but this is important."

I could hear his low chuckle, the sleep fading from his voice. "Yeah, yeah, I know.  What's the favor?"

"I need information on Rin.  I need to know what everything that she's been up to since Harmonic Convergence."

* * *

 

The windows were closed.  Everything was quite outside of Ghazan's snoring.  She always slept the least, taking the longest shifts.  It wasn't going to change now that they were all together once more.  Sleep wouldn't bring her comfort.  It only brought her nightmares.  Even when she knew that they would be soon heading towards the Northern Air Temple, the Republic City police were looking for them.  She couldn't sleep.  She couldn't let her guard down.

"If you keep staring out the window like that, someone is bound to notice you."

Rin looked up to find Junko leaning against the doorway, two cups in her hands.  She walked over quietly to Rin, holding out the cup in her left hand.  By the smell of it, it was green tea.  The abandoned building did have its perks but not a lot of them.  Rin took the cup with a nod, turning her attention back out to the window.  The silence returned as Junko leaned against the wall in front of Rin.

"What are you thinking about?" Junko inquired, a curious eye at her sister.

"Nothing."

"That's a lie, and both of us know it.  So why don't you tell me what's really on your mind?  If you want help deciding where to start, how about you tell me why you've become obsessed with Father's idea of killing the Avatar?"

Rin swallowed hard. "It was their dream.  It was our team's dream.  I plan on accomplishing it."

"And that's it?"

"Why all the questions, Junko?"

Junko smiled. "This has nothing to do about getting back at Asami, does it?" No answer. "Thought so."

Rin narrowed her eyes at her sister. "Why do you give a shit about my motives?  I thought you'd be a bit more grateful for me risking everything to get all of you out of your jail cells."

"Oh believe me, I am grateful.  It doesn't stop me from wondering what happened to the sweet little girl that used to be my little sister."

Rin huffed, turning her attention back to the window. "She grew up."

"Was that before or after you had your heart broken?"

"It doesn't matter!" Rin tightened her grip on her mug. "She made her choice.  After everything, she still chose that monster.  The only way to make her see reason is if I banish that monster from this world, to make it so that others don't make the same mistake ever again."

Junko eyed her sister for a moment longer before finishing off her tea. "Whatever you say, Rin, but I hope you're ready to make the killing blow if it comes to it."

Rin remained quiet as Junko made herself scarce, looking down at the remainder of her tea.  She hated how right her sister was.  She hated how much she was angry over the entirety of the situation.  She hated the Avatar.  Everything would have been perfect had the girl never been born.  It was a mistake that Rin was going to fix, no matter how hard her sister tried to make her question her motives.  The Avatar had remained in this world for too long.  Rin reached down into her boot, pulling out a curved knife and that shined in the little moonlight that entered the room.

The killing blow would be hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the late chapters for the past couple weeks; I'm trying a new style of creating my stories, and a bunch of new ideas in regards to this series has been popping into my mind. Thank you for sticking with this story; make sure to leave comments, kudos, bookmarks, etc.


	12. Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami receives all the information that Darvy managed to dig up on Zaheer and the team that had attempted to kidnap Korra when she was a child. Is she ready to see how far the conspiracy leads to?

The wind was blowing a nice breeze today.  I looked up from my spot in the shade towards the bright blue skies above me.  I could hear the grunts and cheers from off in the distance; Korra was off playing against Su’s twins in their invented game of Power Disc.  I had taken the past couple days to give Korra some distance.  I didn’t want to cause another fight, and the isolation allowed me to focus on the information that Darvy had sent me on Rin.

Needless to say, I didn’t like what was sent over.  There was little to no information on where Rin had disappeared to since Harmonic Convergence.  What was found only proved everyone else’s suspicions on her true intentions.  She was seen at each of the breakouts, though now she seemed to have gone underground after the escape of her sister, Junko.  My memories of her sister were sketchy at best; she hadn’t been around much when Rin and I were growing up.  The most I had heard about her was after her “departure,” which had ended up being her imprisonment in the Boiling Rock prison.

I sent the pages next to me, moving my notebook on top of them so that they wouldn’t blow away.  I brought my hand up to my mouth as I stared off at the space next to my feet.  It didn’t make sense; why now?  Why break all of them out and go underground?  Are they searching for Korra like Lin said, or is there something else that we’re missing?  I was still deep in thought when the ground around me started to shake.  I jumped to my feet, scanning the area around me in search of the source when I heard Korra’s voice.

“What the hell!”

I ran towards Korra’s voice, my heart beating hard against my chest.  My mind was running to every conclusion that I could think of, the worst being that the criminals had found us all the way out in Zaofu.   _ Why now?  Why out in the open?  Please let it not be them.   _ As I rounded the corner, I had to duck to my right to avoid a piece of earth that shot past my head.  It slammed into the ground behind me, my body freezing as I stared at the rumble of rock.   _ That was too close for comfort!   _ I turned towards the direction the rock had come from, only to see Lin and Su fighting each other.

Lin was panting hard, sweat rolling down her temple and her arms as she launched volley after volley of earth towards her sister.  Su was quick to catch or deflect each volley, but she remained calm and collected, as if she were performing a dance routine.  She sent a few counters back towards Lin, but they were easily cast aside before they could do any harm.

I ran over to Bolin and Korra, who stood off to the side with matching worried expressions. “What’s going on?”

Bolin smiled a little at my question. “Sister dispute.  Just...let them work it out.  It’s all part of the healing process.”

I turned back towards the fight, watching as Su cartwheeled her way out of one of Lin’s attacks.  The force of the attacks was enough to draw the rest of Su’s family out, with her twins shouting cheers of encouragement.  It was a sight to watch.  Su’s fighting style matched that of her dancing experience, while Lin continued a forceful approach.  I had seen our police chief fight against the Equalists, but this was something different, rawer.  To think that all of her anger towards her sister was changing her fighting style this much spoke volumes towards the hurt she must have endured over the years because of it.

The fighting would have continued if Opal hadn’t chosen that moment to step between the two sisters, airbending them back from each other. “Stop this!  You’re sisters!  Why would you want to hurt each other?”

The fighting ended after Opal’s interruption.  Su had barely broken a sweat, but Lin was worse off.  She collapsed, nearly hitting her head on her fall towards the ground, but Korra was quick to catch her.  Lin was taken back to her room, Su’s medical staff deeming that she just needed rest after a quick check up.  I could see Su’s regret on the matter, and she spent the rest of the night cleaning up the courtyard where she and Lin had fought.  Everyone else scattered to different parts of the estate, allowing for me to return to the airship.

I spent the better part of the next few hours going through as much data as I could on each of the criminals that had escaped.  There was little to know about them, but Darvy was always good at uncovering previously hidden details.  I decided to use the evening to read up on the backgrounds he had managed to recover.

Ghazan, the earthbender of the group, was raised in a village south of a previously dormant volcano.  When he was thirteen, the volcano erupted with his village in the path of the lava flow.  It was then that he discovered his lavabending, but the members of his village exiled him for fear of what he could do with his new bending.  He was on his own for five years before being recruited into the Red Lotus.  Ming-Hua, the waterbender, was born without arms, but that didn’t stop her from using the disability to her advantage.  Many would look the other way, thinking that she wasn’t capable of becoming one of the best thieves in the world.  Not much was found on where she came from, but the profile stated that she was twenty years old at the time of Korra’s attempted kidnapping.

When it came to the remaining three, Zaheer, P’Li, and Junko, their stories were overlapping.  P’Li was one of few with the ability to combustionbend, having been the personal assassin of a Fire Nation warlord when she was very young.  She met Zaheer during that time, and he had been the one to free her from the position.  There wasn’t much on Zaheer outside of the note of his Fire Nation birthplace and notes on his fascination with the Air Nation and its culture.  It was when they started looking towards a dream where men like the warlord would never rise to power again that Zaheer turned to his cousin, Junko.  

My knuckles turned white as they clenched around the stacks of paper.  Junko’s and Rin’s parents were the leaders of the Red Lotus, welcoming Zaheer and P’Li into their ranks with open arms.  From there, Zaheer was able to recruit Ghazan and Ming-Hua to their cause.  With Zaheer and Junko in charge, the five became one of the most notorious cells within the Red Lotus.  It didn’t say how, but there had been an anonymous tip on the kidnapping attempt, leading to the five being caught and imprisoned.  I swallowed as I looked at the dates that followed the imprisonment.

It was three years afterwards that Rin’s parents returned to the Fire Nation with Rin.  Two years later, both parents perished in their attempt at kidnapping the Fire Nation Princess, gunned down by the police force.  On ink and paper, I was able to see Rin’s life vanish before her eyes.  First her sister, then her parents.  After that, it was nothing.  They kept an eye out on her after her parents’ deaths, but then it just stopped.  It stopped until she came back to Republic City, working under Varrick, but there was no sign that she had any ulterior motive.

_ Just another lie.   _ I rubbed my jaw as I set the stack of papers down.  There had been too much going on in that household for Rin to be innocent to it.  She had to have known, and the knowledge about it made my stomach turn.  I trusted her.  She had helped us save the world from Unalaq, but now it all made sense on her true motives.

The worse thing, however, was the fact that Korra had been right.  She had been right about Rin this entire time, and I ignored her.  I hurt her. I gently knocked my knuckles against my forehead, mentally berating myself for not listening to her.  I scooped up all of the papers and pushed them into a folder.   _ I need to show Korra.  I need to apologize to her. _

As I moved towards leaving the airship, Weisman rushed into the room, the color gone from his face. “Ma’am, Darvy’s on the line for you.  It’s urgent.”

I followed Weisman back to the comms room, picking up the phone. “It’s Asami.  What’s going on?”

**_“Apologies, but this needed to get to you as soon as possible.”_ **

I narrowed my eyes. “What’s going on, Darvy?”

**_“They were here.  In Republic City.”_ **

* * *

 

Rin narrowed her eyes as she watched the cops storm the vehicle she had arrived in with Junko.  They had switched buildings early that morning, but they were still at risk of being discovered.  All because Zaheer couldn’t keep his airbending fascination to himself.  At least his infiltration wasn’t all for not.

“Rin.”

_ Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.   _ Rin turned to see Zaheer standing with the others, their bags thrown over their shoulders.  Due to the police interference, they were forced to change their plans, leaving Raiko alive for another day.  She stood, grabbing her small bag before walking towards the group.

Junko raised an eyebrow at her sister. “Ready?”

Rin nodded. “Let’s get going.”

They all parted for her to walk past them, leading them down towards the back alley to the truck they had hijacked.  Rin would drive with Junko in the passenger side, leaving the rest of them to hide in the back.  She wanted to get out of Republic City as fast as she could, and the two of them would draw the least amount of attention with the change to their appearances.  Once everything was set, Rin took side streets out of the abandoned area to avoid the police before joining the traffic heading out of the city.

For once, the Republic City police force was out in full force; all it took was for a sighting of one of the most wanted criminals in the world for them to get off of their asses.  Granted, with Lin and her metalbenders, it wasn’t hard to imagine why they had gotten so lazy before.  As they neared the bridge that would lead them out of the city, Rin looked farther forward to see a police checkpoint waiting for them.

“Damn it,” she said softly. “You all need to be quiet and stay down.  There’s a checkpoint at the end of the bridge.”

“Are you going to be able to get through it?” Junko asked her softly, narrowing her eyes as they continued moving forward.

“After the shitshow that was Harmonic Convergence, I’m sure Lin hired a lot of new officers, so as long as there’s newbies, we should be fine.”

Rin pulled the truck to a stop, a smile on her face as one of the officers walked up to the driver’s side window.  From what she could see, there were only new officers at the checkpoint, but her body remained tense.

“Good afternoon.  Where are you off to today?” the officer asked, moving his hands behind his back.

“Bao Yu.  It’s my last pickup for the day,” Rin answer, reaching forward to grab the manifest she had stolen with the truck.  She handed them to the officer, her eyes watching the officers behind him.

The officer looked at the manifest, handing it back to Rin when a voice from behind caught their attention. “Everything alright with this one, Gao?”

_ Fuck.   _ Rin looked over Gao’s head to see one of Mako’s former partners, Zeke, walking towards the truck.  She had to get going, but leaving now would only create more problems for them.  Rin gripped the steering wheel, and she could hear the others adjust slightly.  She hoped that Zeke wouldn’t pay too much attention to her, that he would just look at the truck and let them through.

She was wrong.

Gao nodded towards the truck. “Just checking over this young lady’s manifest.  Everything looks to be in order.”

Zeke nodded before turning his attention towards Rin, his eyes taking a minute to widen as recognition came over his features.   _ DAMN IT!   _ Rin slammed on the gas, driving straight through the barrier towards the bridge.  Nothing in the damn plan was going accordingly thanks to Zaheer’s carelessness.  She could hear the sirens of the police Satomobiles starting to gain on the truck.

“P’Li!  Ghazan!  Do something!” she heard Junko shout, the doors to the back of the truck flying open a moment later.

Rin could hear the sounds of P’Li’s combustion sound, the number of sirens starting to drop.  A grunt from Ghazan followed, and Rin looked in her rearview mirror to see he had opened a line of lava in front of the remaining police Satomobiles, their vehicles either sinking as they reached it or just stopping short to avoid the fate of their comrades,

“Where to now?” Junko asked, her hand still gripping the handle on the door.

Rin looked back in the rearview mirror, this time turning her attention to Zaheer. “Have you heard back from any of your contacts, Zaheer?  I know you were in the Spirit World before we left.”

Zaheer nodded, a smile creeping onto his face. “She’s in Zaofu as we speak.”

_ Finally.  The end is near. _

* * *

 

Su, Lin, Aiwei, and Kuvira huddled around a blueprint of Zaofu while Korra spoke with Tenzin on the phone.  Now knowing that Rin and the others were out there, more caution was being placed around the city.  Extra patrols, more guards around our residence halls.  So why did I feel like it still wasn’t enough?  I continued to pace back and forth before a hand on my shoulder stopped me.  I turned to see Opal standing beside me.

“You doing ok?” she asked, worry in her eyes.

_ She’s worrying about me instead of getting ready to go to the Northern Air Temple.   _ She had a aunt-niece talk with Lin after Lin’s collapse and was able to draw up the strength to tell her parents about her intentions of leaving for the Northern Air Temple.  I sighed, looking towards everyone else. “It’s just...I feel like I’m useless right now.  Everything’s being taken care of, but I have so much of this energy to burn, to do something, that just sitting around and waiting is driving me insane.”

Opal chuckled. “It’ll be alright.  Mom and Kuvira have this all under control.”

I nodded, looking up as Korra made her way over to Su and Kuvira.  She looked calm and collected, a gentle smile on her face as she discussed the changes that had been made.  Opal sighed next to me, prompting me to look at her with a questioning look.

“I’m just going to miss you all,” she admitted a shy smile.

I looked at her with wide eyes before a laugh escaped me.  I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to my side. “You’re not getting rid of us that easily, Opal.  Let’s go see what that chef of yours managed to cook up for your going-away celebration, huh?”

Opal returned the smile, following my lead back towards the dining hall.  It wasn’t long after when the rest of her family and our friends joined us, laughs filling the room as we ate and told stories about Opal.  Bolin stuck close to her, already dreading the time they were going to be apart once more.  As the celebration drew to a close, we listened to Su give a speech on how much Opal would be missed, and it was hard for majority of the attendees to keep a dry eye.

We saw to Opal’s departure, Weisman waiting patiently as we all said our goodbyes.  I had taken all of my notes on Rin’s group off the ship and instructed Weisman to help out where he could at the Northern Air Temple.  Once we found more airbenders, we would call for him to meet us with the airship.

I pulled Opal into a tight hug. “I’ll see you soon, Opal.”

She pulled back, a bright smile on her face. “I’ll see you soon.”

Once she had said her final farewells to her family, we watch Opal depart for the temple.  I could hear Kuvira in the background give the order to start closing up the city, while Bolin continued to wail at Opal’s departure.  It was not only Opal’s last night in Zaofu, but ours as well.  In the morning, we’d be off to continue our search for more airbenders.

That was a lie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's block, new stories, and a whole bunch of nonsense in the past two weeks has been a stressful bunch of combinations. Please take this new chapter and forgive me!
> 
> Also, there will be an important announcement coming soon on the last part of the series that follows Book 4, so stay tuned!

**Author's Note:**

> Make sure to follow me on tumblr (@libs1317) for all updates on War Path, and be sure to check out the first two parts of the Ups and Downs of Love series, Senior Year and First Love.


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